https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlrm8uouKc0&feature=youtu.be
In the clip with this team:
Saturday, August 3, 2019
Vlad Rimburg Unleashes Wolf Warrior 2 Previs Clip!
Greetings valued Dan's Movie Report readers, in an effort to spotlight on stunts, check out this bad ass clip from Vlad Rimburg! Wolf Warrior 2!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlrm8uouKc0&feature=youtu.be
In the clip with this team:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlrm8uouKc0&feature=youtu.be
In the clip with this team:
Sunday, July 28, 2019
Hollow Point (2019) Movie Review (C) 2019 Dan's Movie Report
Above: Official poster for Hollow Point (c) 2019 Halcyon Films
Greetings
valued Dan's Movie Report and Action-Flix.com readers. Already a lot
of buzz regarding the latest film from director Daniel Zirilli,
Hollow Point. Daniel and star JuJu Chan are in China at the 5th annual Jackie
Chan International Action Film Awards. Hollow Point is chosen as one
of the top 10 action films of the festival and JuJu Chan was chosen as
a nominee for the best action actress. Check out this amazing photo from Antony Szeto below at the festival
Composer
Nicholas Rivera was awarded for his musical score in Hollow Point. At
the 2019 NIAFFS (Noidentity International Action Film Festival) which
took place June 29th 2019 in Seville Spain. Executive
Producer and Star Dilan Jay was on hand to accept the awards, which also included awards for director Daniel Zirilli and Ayhan Tongadur. Often
composing is a lonely business, having to sit in a room by yourself
syncing the music to a quiet film track. Composers often have to go
through a myriad of demands by various producers and the film
director, delivering the finished project in a limited amount of
time. Nicholas is a creative individual, who puts passion into his
craft. Very deserved to be recognized for his efforts in Hollow
Point. Nicholas may not be walking red carpets, but in order for the
others involved in the film to be able to, it is hard to deny that a
great score is what makes a film, Jaws anyone?
Now
that the film is actually for sale on Amazon, in the U.K. and has had a couple of film fest screenings, now is a great time to review the film,
putting my two and a half cents in. Before getting into this review a
full disclosure, I recommended JuJu Chan and DP Carmen Cabana to the
production, having introduced the two of them at the Widescreen Film
Festival in 2017.
Hollow
Point at the core is a revenge film as a college professor's wife and
child are gunned down in cold blood for just being witness to a
crime. Dilan Jay, in his film debut is the Executive producer and
star. He portrays the professor character Noolan Cooray. Dilan is
just getting his feet wet in the film business, coming from a musical
background, he is creative, perhaps he may have bitten off more than
he can handle jumping into the lead character. His effort is
commendable, but might have been better served to start out in a
smaller role prior to.
The
script to Hollow Point was written by Chad and Evan Law, along with
director Daniel Zirilli. I thought the script and dialogue was
interesting and entertaining. The dialogue had purpose, not just
being filler to pad an action yarn.
Daniel
Zirilli has directed many excellent independent action films. Although he gets
as much as he can out of the people involved, I feel that at times
some elements of the films he has directed are slightly hampered. Not his fault, as budget constraints and outside forces seem
to curtail his hard work. Please someone give this man a proper budget! Check out our earlier interview. http://dansmoviereport.blogspot.com/2016/04/director-daniel-zirilli-interview-dans.html
Connect to him @ https://www.facebook.com/popartfilms/
One element of Hollow Point I really enjoyed was the camera work overall. Carmen Cabana is the director of photography on Hollow Point, and I must say, the way she frames the action, well lit when it needs to be and proper angles for the fight scenes and dialogue scenes give a more polished feel to the film. I firmly feel that a good DP can really enhance even a low budget film, and Hollow Point is for sure one of the best shot films Daniel Zirilli has directed.
Connect to him @ https://www.facebook.com/popartfilms/
One element of Hollow Point I really enjoyed was the camera work overall. Carmen Cabana is the director of photography on Hollow Point, and I must say, the way she frames the action, well lit when it needs to be and proper angles for the fight scenes and dialogue scenes give a more polished feel to the film. I firmly feel that a good DP can really enhance even a low budget film, and Hollow Point is for sure one of the best shot films Daniel Zirilli has directed.
The
cast of Hollow Point consists of veteran actors mixed with newcomers
and at times, some of the acting is a bit uneven, that said, Michael
Paré Luke
Goss and Jay
Mohr are seasoned pros and give Hollow Point a more prominent
feel than the average B movie. The trio do their best at stern looks
and intense dialogue, underscoring the seriousness of Hollow Point.
The
big acting surprises here are actresses Natalie Burn and JuJu Chan.
Natalie Burn portrays detective Emily Plaza and really seems to take
to the role. Not only does she deliver her lines with authority, her
mannerisms belay the demeanor of an officer, trying to get to the
bottom of the situation. Natalie downplays her good looks, going more
for a streamlined no nonsense approach to the project. Actress JuJu
Chan, who will be soon seen in the upcoming Wu Assassins, pulls out
all of the violence and verisimilitude needed for her role as the
mercenary/scout Amanda Ray. Finally a script, a director and a DP in
a film uses JuJu to her potential. JuJu has significant dialogue, and
copious fighting, in Hollow Point, usually it is one or the other. As
I disclosed earlier, I recommended JuJu to Daniel Z, about 3 yrs
ago, but I can honestly say she really worked hard on this film and
was definitely into the script and working with her good friend
Carmen as the DP. It shows when people work hard.
Pointing
out some other aspects of the film, location a kick ass house for one
of the lead bad guys, a dank warehouse, the Los Angeles scenery is on
display with some cool outside photography. I helicopter was used in
the final police take down, this added to the overall scope of the
film. The flow of the film is fast, not much time is wasted on fluff.
Coming in at one hour and twenty-nine minutes including credits
crawl, the film length feels about right,
Some
gripes I have, the first one being the editing of the shots,
especially during the final action sequence. The quick cuts between
Dilan's confrontation with the bad guy and JuJu's killer fight, left
me a bit frustrated, I kind of wish we are privy to the entire Juju
fight first and then the Dilan climax separately. Both elements are
very good, yet splicing them together seemed to lesson the
effectiveness of the two. Even though the are taking place at the
same time, giving them their own space even a minute or two each
would have made both more satisfying.
Above: Hollow Point (c) 2019 Halcyon Films
The
lighting for the most part is very good. My only issue is the very
beginning raid, it is just too dark to properly see our mercenary
group. The camera angles are fine, just needed to be lit from above
like a flood or street light illuminating the area. The actors in the
scene have some cool moves, yet due to the darkness the audience is
not able to see them. I did a second pass with the brightness on my
DVD player and the TV all the way up. It helped a bit but still very
dark.
Dilan
Jay is a good singer, however due to the type of film this is with
extreme violence, and torture, his sweet soulful voice and mellow
music seemed out of place. Hollow Point needed more hard tribal drums
and perhaps some heavy metal music, yep I said it, when things get
crazy.
Above: JuJu Chan and Dilan Jay share a moment in Hollow Point (c) 2019 Halcyon Films
Normally
I do not like a small cast, but in Hollow Point, it seems too many
side characters are introduced and detract from the main focal point
of the plot. There is a lavish pool party, with an endless array of
beautiful ladies, the scene is supposed to establish the upper crust
lifestyle of the bad guys, but we already know this from the house
one of them resides in, luxurious with huge open windows.
Arnold
Chon does a great job with the stunts and action. Having to deal with
a wide variety of abilities is difficult. He has to craft the action
based on the talents of the various actors, within the framework of
the script. Arnold is a pro, and I would definitely like to see some
of his behind the scenes fight set up.
Although
far from perfect, Hollow Point merits a rent or a buy if you like
action films. With successful film festival runs, the movie is
gaining momentum, look for a release in the USA later this year. I
struggled with the rating, overall I give the film a 7 out of 10,
some elements are amazing, some are a bit sub-par, but scoring this
on a scale of B movies under the million dollar budget Hollow Point
is pretty good. I will say if you do not like B films, or action
films, perhaps Hollow Point is not for you, but being used to this
type of film and comparing it to films in the same category, it is
pretty good.
The
film is available to buy, from Amazon U.K.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hollow-Point-Luke-Dilan-Michael/dp/B07SFQ3931
the DVD is under 10 USD!!
Check out the Facebook Page for Hollow Point @ https://www.facebook.com/hollowpointfilm1/
IMDB Page: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8648640/
Above: Trailer for Hollow Point (2019)
Official Hollow Point trailer on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ksPSLu8EvM
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