Saturday, January 19, 2019

Kali Diaries 7: End Game (2019) Movie Review C) Dan's Movie Report


Above: Lauren Mary Kim and Amy Johnston. Video: Vlad Rimburg




Greetings valued Dan's Movie Report readers. Hard to believe it was almost 18 yrs ago I first heard about Lauren Mary Kim was all the way back in 2001, when she was a dancer. In fact she worked on a few projects and one of them was here in Miami, so we met and chatted, Even back then, I could see the passion and drive to succeed.

Boom, fast forward to 2019! What a ride, now with nearly 150 projects she has worked on in stunts and action and more recently she has created a cool series of her own called Kali Diaries. In Kali Diaries 7 Lauren has outdone even her own lofty standards by producing a hot new short complete with wardrobe, kick ass setting, and expertly crafted filming by Vlad Rimburg. Amy Johnston, star of Accident Man, Lady Bloodfight and Female Fight Club is brought along for the ride and virtually goes toe to to with Lauren for 2 minutes Bo Staff vs Sword!

Here is the official full Kali Diaries 7: End Game trailer: 

 

With this level up action, Lauren and Amy once again prove they are at the top of their game, and Vlad shows he can still kick ass with quality HD video, and dynamic angles, displaying the power and beauty of the ladies along with the brutality.

The film is excellent, by adding in some costuming and a more exotic action location, Lauren and Amy are allowed to draw on their athletic prowess, and Vlad is able to have the audience feel the action! Overall, the two minute blast Kali Diaries 7: End Game is a hit, a 9 out of 10, and should win some action festival awards!

This film can be seen on the new platform www.deadlydymes.com The video site allows users to monetize their films and the people who going the site can pay to download HD quality video while supporting the particular person or film.


For Lauren Mary Kim: Blast her YouTube Channel for more action! She has 6 other Kali Diaries films and her stunt reels on there! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAGMHyAKEpOl1H82hANMzRg

The full credit listing for Kali Diaries 7: End Game is:

⚔️ KALI DIARIES 7 End Game
See exclusive full fight at DeadlyDymes.com
Rematch Fight against Amy Johnston

Shot & Edited Vladislav Rimburg
Fight Choreo Alvin J Hsing Brendon Huor
Makeup & hair Talya Boz
Props Brad Yuen
Weapons Top Quest Inc.
Location Caryn Mower
Wardrobe Dolls Kill
Spray Tan Sun Spa Tanning
Representing V10 Stunts


Get ready for a hot, 2019 interview with Lauren Mary Kim about her Kali Diaries series on your home for exclusives, Dan's Movie Report.

Friday, January 18, 2019

Close (2019) Movie Review (C) 2019 Dan's Movie Report




Close (2019) Movie Review, above photo: IMDB page for Close.

Greetings valued Dan's Movie Report readers. Today is the day! Netflix hits hard with two kick ass properties, The Punisher season 2 and Close starring Noomi Rapace. Not gonna lie anything Noomi stars in piques my interest. I find her to be engaging in talent and personality. Probably my favorite movie of Noomi is the crushing Daisy Diamond. That said, of course Noomi is best known for The girl with the Dragon Tattoo series and Prometheus.

Close opens with an operation somewhere in the middle east where Noomi is assigned to protect an individual but the operation turns sideways and the truck driver is killed. Since this was before the main credits roll I figured this would not spoil any main plot points, which I freaking hate when reviewers do.

OK Here we go! Close represents a huge step for Noomi as a action heroine, She is kicking some serious ass! She has really leveled up the intensity in this vicious violent film. The five foot three 115 pound girl is throwing some power and really hurting people, well in this film. I mean ha, this is a fantasy right! Seriously though Close is a real edge of your seat action yarn, that never slows down, except when you think nothing is happening, except it does! Noomi flexes her acting muscles in scenes with the young lady Zoe, she is protecting. Noomi has to remain emotionless during the film, but she proves she can handle the delicate balance of character.

Close probably should have had a theatrical run prior to Netflix. Interestingly Noomi is listed as one of the film's several Executive Producers. I am guessing that Noomi eventually wants to be back in the big budget action game but her own action series or film.

The film seems like it was shot or edited with a brown filter, A sepia tone to convey the desert setting. That said, the cinematography is quite engaging, as the audience is brought into the action. Close as the name implies is filmed almost as a character study on the trials of a personal protection operative.

Great action, some creative death scenes are only part of Close, as the film takes some interesting twists and turns over the short 97 minute run time. The cool thing is there are many breaks in the action to learn about the two central characters on the fly, with the step mother looming in the background trying to take over control of her late husband's money. The story in Close is pretty simple, but it develops enough of a human interaction to keep the viewer interested without getting bogged down in too many meaningless distractions.

Kudos go to Netflix as in 2019 they are increasing their original content output. Close represents a fresh start to the year. Close rates a strong 8 out of 10. If Noomi wants to be my personal bodyguard, I would not mind ha! Serious though, the film is great and I hope it comes eventually to DVD with special features. 

Go and get Netflix now! Or point your browsers and log in to www.netflix.com  

Thursday, January 17, 2019

Scott Mann Interview Part 2!! Final Score! (c) 2018 Danny Templegod


All photos on this page are on the IMDB page for Final Score, and credited to their original creators, they are used only for the purpose of the interview and not monetized


Scott Man Interview Part 2 Final Score

Greetings valued Dan's Movie Report and Action-Flix.com readers, as promised here is part two of the massive 2 part interview with director Scott Mann. Scott shares his thoughts in depth about Final Score, I know that my readers have probably read other interviews with Scott about this film, but I hope that this one gives a fresh perspective on his thinking behind the action, not just the main characters. Scott is really interesting to talk to thus I went long in our interview with the PR person gently reminding me he had other interviews scheduled, our call lasted 30 minutes not the assigned 15, sorry folks, I feel that if a person has a lot to say I give them the opportunity. Get ready to chat with the MAN! Scott Mann!!


DT: Transitioning to Final Score, you have a very strong female character in this movie who is a Villianess and she has a really good stunt double also.

SM: She does, wow I was thinking the same thing, I recently looked at the film myself and thought yeah she is amazing. 

 

DT: Yes, not only is she a good stunt double but the stunts she has to perform are not typical stunts a female performer has to work on.

SM: I agree, when we do things we try not to draw a line and say that stunt is for a woman or that stunt or part is for a man, there is certain kind of physical attributes you have to factor in. There are certain ways which people with less physical mass can attack to gain an edge and put their opponent at a disadvantage. We try to venture away from the old fashion attributes of action and fighting. Don't divide it what is the point, woman or man, the roles and action can be balanced and fluid. We do not like to draw the lines between characters.



You noticed that I see that Alexandra Dinu had a really amazing role and of course her stunt double Rubie Planson.

DT: Yes sir Scott! I did notice they are a great combination of acting and action! In fact my buddy Lee Charles who is also in your film was going to try to contact her for me. I really loved her work.

SM: Yes the sheer amount of stuff she was pulling off fighting a big guy, the physicality of it, she made it work, back to the other film I did with Dave (Bautista) had Gina Carono in it. You have to consider these things and it is interesting to watch the process of dynamic action unfold. Using stress offense coupled with speed and agility make the fights between her and a larger opponent look believable and engaging. Back to Final Score, that is the way I envisioned the character of Tatiana portrayed by Alexandra Dinu to be agile and full of fight, but also diverse enough to handle the different situations she was put in from Motorcycle chases to fighting to gun play.

Alexandra the actress is very beautiful and talented, but I thought of her as a man, in this film we stripped away Alexandra's femininity and with her portrayal we see the raw character she embodies! It was a conscious thing that rides throughout the movie. Alexandra embraced that, and if you look at the transformation she worked on it is quite astonishing, how her character took shape, Before and after, the regular actor and her as the villainous Tatiana! Alot of it was getting into that character, that spirit. It also was down to our great make-up artist Jemma (Harwood) she did an incredible job to help create the character.




Yes when you are writing the idea is to give the characters places to go physically and emotionally to convey a dynamic story. Dave Bautista does you are right Danny get into a more emotional state and the bad guys do get more reckless as the film progresses. It is hard as you only have very limited amount of screen time to develop the characters, so it is a hard balance between the action and the story. Hats off to the people who always seem to pull this off. They are the ones who make the characters come to life. I do think that they did a great job on that.

DT: Did you storyboard the action?

SM: We kind of mapped it out ourselves, and worked it out. The sequences, we mapped out. We were using the stadium for real, so we had the opportunity to do it on a big scale not in front of a green screen. We tried to come up with the details about what we could do. With an action film such as Final Score we wanted to stray away from traditional set pieces. Now on the motorbike chase around the concourse we did do an initial storyboard pass, we went through it and mapped out where we could go. I think we did that for a couple of the other sequences as well. It is good to start out with a template but I personally like to leave a lot of headroom for the reality of stuff. I like the visceral real action. I want to do as much as possible on set in camera.

DT: I thought the action sequences that the team crafted were open ended, is that your view Scott?

SM: Yes I never cared for action sequences that are too stylized and set in a rigid framework. It distracts from some of the fun you would have in capturing a spectacle. Dave Judge the stunt rider, is amazing and he did actually drive on the roof of the stadium! Yes that was a real stunt! He had a safety cable, but still that was an amazing hair raising stunt and one that was so hard to pull. Rob de Groot also did an incredible job for doubling Dave. As a director I really wanted to capture that. It is not like the HK style of films where there is a lot of previz and every fight is choreographed down to the minuscule detail. I collaborated with the stunt coordinators to keep it free enough so the movements were fluid. I want to never force the action, I want the characters to be in the moment. I am a fan of action like that and for this film I felt it was tied to the fabric of the characters and their development.

DT: Chat about the character deaths of the various villains and good guys in the film?

This film more than any other I have been involved in there is an intense period of writing, as we were writing the film as we were making it, crafting the action. This has the consequence of the freedom to do things that you will find along the way, and along the path of the story. It can also be scary as we had to come to a conclusion of the action, the culmination To keep the film flowing. We would have a sketch of how things would go and how things would play out, but not complete story boarding. It was movable, as I am a fan of adventure in any script. Yes the fight on the lift between Lee and Dave, in the lift (elevator) it was a small space. It was interesting to see that type of fight between two huge guys in that compact space. I never did a fight in that type of space before so we were trying to be inventive. As a director, I am always looking to what is fun for me to watch and hopefully the viewers as well. There is times when you can do what you want to do, and there is times when you have a specific idea in mind, we usually have a decent idea in mind going into it but very much we like the dynamic

A good example of this is the kitchen fight where the actor gets his hands in the fryer That actually was not in the scene with the knife in the fryer and it was not even in the scene until Dave and the stunt guys worked through it together and came up with the idea. I thought it was a really nice moment in the film. Between the back and forth of making things work, you get little bits of magic. I am really pleased on how all if that turned out. The worst thing you can do on a low budget movie is to constrain yourself to be to conscribed to one way of thinking. Like the action, the electric wires, you can spend a fortune on something that is not really important. We try to work with things inside the set to our advantage, to use the moments we have on set to get into the action and don't worry about the other tings you did not get either due to budget or shot concerns. In Final Score it is about embracing things you have to live with, and trying to make the most out of it. I feel we pulled a lot off in very constrained circumstances.

DT: How long was the shoot, principal photography?

SM: We had 4 weeks in the stadium and two weeks in London. So 6 weeks, I thought it was a bit too short for a movie of this scale, but it is always a balance. The truth is while it is nice to have a budget there is less room in bigger budget stuff for do something interesting all the time. The moments in the original scripts, probably never would have been allowed in a studio film. The fact we were a realivily small independent. It does not have to have a sequel or be a remake, Final Score was its own original idea and a sequel of course is not needed, the film stands alone, this allowed us the freedom to explore the finality of things, in a stand alone original movie.

DT: Do you have any new films in the works?

I have another film that I plan to shoot in 2019 which is an action thriller set in Chicago, that should be happening this year, but I have been doing a lot of TV. I have been dipping my toes in the television roles as it were hah, which I have been enjoying. I enjoy doing a lot of things, actually Final Score came out of the blue. Like in Final Score, it came up as hey we have the stadium lets do this! So we had only 3 weeks to get it together ha, what a ride!!

DT: Thanks again for the interview Scott I know we went several minutes over our time.

SM: Yes no worries, I had fun thanks.

DT: I really enjoyed the film Scott thanks again for going in depth for Dan's Movie Report and Action-Flix!

SM: Thanks to you for taking the time to explore the film, and show it in a new light. Def reach out to Pete as well if you want to find out more about the action! Thanks again mate, cheers, have a great day.

That is it! As always never sharing news, but dropping 2,000 word interviews! Dan's Movie Report has new interviews and of course to be happy to collaborate with the best action site on the planet Action-Flix, we share the same philosophies on films, we buy them! We enjoy them and support those individuals who we feel share our passion. As 2019 roles on look for more exclusives on both sites! Final Score is now out on DVD for purchase or rental!