Above: Long Lost Poster, used for promotional purposes only
Greetings
valued Dan's Movie Report readers. Across my desk today comes a tight
thriller called Long Lost, basic in it's concept exuding an air of
mystery and uncertainty. Gone is the gore, violence, and in your face
easy to understand, by the numbers horror. Long Lost is one of those
ethereal films, brooding in an under toe of emotion, honestly I did
not know what to expect from scene to scene.
Premise
is simple enough, young man invited to spend the weekend at a long
lost half brother's house, he gets to the house and has to follow the
many rules. Yep three main characters~ Adam Weppler as Seth (the
young man) Nicholas Tucci as Richard (the half brother) Catherine
Corcoran she portrays Seth's live in girlfriend.
The
acting by the leads is remarkable, to be subtle yet forceful is an
art form. Nicholas Tucci's demeanor is calm, yet pensive, seemingly
not trusting of anyone. Weppler plays the young brother with
innocence and reverence, he breathes life into Seth. What else can be
said about Catherine Corcoran, she is a pro, wistful yet full of
angst. Watching Long Lost unfold with the actors is a treat, and no
way will I spoil the plot.
Wait,
what! How can a film centered around a trio of individuals be
engaging for a full 90 minutes? Simply put, it is the brooding air of
uncertainty. At times Long Lost leans closer to an erotic thriller,
but it is not, as a decent amount of dialogue goes into the set up
and the story. To call Long Lost a psychological thriller alone will
serve no one, it is set up as a dramatic film with elements of the
extreme. The film merges many styles, not sticking to one, here in
lies the entertaining value.
The
elements are there, creepy music, clean settings, clear camera work.
Long Lost works on all levels. Sparse at times, inviting at others,
Long Lost goes in one direction, then throws the viewer off just
enough to retain interest. I liken it to a roller coaster, that
suddenly changes into a Tilt A Whirl! HAH, what the hell is going
on!?! This is the akin to riding an entire park of rides, in one
film!
Erik
Bloomquist (The Cobblestone Corridor) has really created a work of
art with Long Lost. Pushing the envelope of reality vs movie. It is a
great film, winning awards at many festivals. April 10th
the film comes out on VOD on various platforms. Long Lost rates a
very strong 8 out of 10, it is my top horror/thriller pick so far in
2019.
Long Lost comes to VOD April 10th across various platforms:
Above: Poster for Black Site, (C) 2019 Epic Pictures/Dread used for promotional purposes only
Sometimes fate is more interesting than
life! I was curious about this film awhile back, as a very early
trailer dropped in 2017 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnDbYHRGqao), but when I saw a September 2018
release date and never saw the finished film, only in festivals. I
was not sure it was going to be be released on DVD or streaming
services.
Enter the amazing Epic Pictures in
conjunction with Dread! Black Site will finally be unleashed April
9th, 2019. There is also a limited special edition Blu-Ray
which is Region Free, has director commentary, deleted scenes and all
of the Dread trailers to date on it, link at the end of the review.
Whew...on to my review. Black Site is
one of those tense brooding, Dario Argento build up films.
Writer/Director Tom Paton crafts an undulating story, mixing sci-fi,
horror, and especially near the end a whole boatload of action!
Although the plot is basic, how the
story unfolds and the eventual outcome is what makes Black Site
entertaining. Essentially the entire film takes place in an
underground, long abandoned research center that has been re-purposed
to send beings known as 'Elder Gods' back to their own realm. Much
like a 'weigh station' or holding place, prior to transport.
The character flaws of people who work
at the facility are made evident, One person is relegated to a
certain area due to her PTSD, and is passed up for promotion. Very
often lower budget movies never take this kind of time to develop the
characters, (Incidentally many strong female leads), and in Black
Site a solid 35 minutes is taken for the set up to the action!
Acting wise, the film is average, never
bad, my only small gripe is more emotion perhaps was needed when a
person in the film is killed off, but this never detracted from the
enjoyment of the film. The other issue, I guess since I watch a lot
of action films is, the way the fights are executed. I think that the
choreography and actor fight training needed to be better. I am sure
with a few extra days or a week of intense choreo, the cast who are
all young and fit, would have no trouble selling the fights better. I
am sure A LOT, has to do with budget. The thing is even a lower
budget film, if you have a copious amount of fighting and
inexperienced actors in the fight game, they need to be trained, case
in point Zom Ammara, in Kill 'em All, she had zero training in any
type of screen fighting, or real martial arts, and she was a central
action character in the film, so the weeks she had training, worked,
she was fit and looked bad ass on screen.
Not going to go into too much details,
as I never put in spoilers, especially if a film is unreleased. I
will give Black Site a strong rent, a 6.5 out of 10. That said, if
you rent the film, and like it, def recommend buying the Blu-Ray as I
am sure the additional deleted scenes and director commentary are
worth the price.
Above Poster for Book of Monsters, used for promotional purposes only
Greetings
valued Dan's Movie Report readers, a swerve to the left for Epic
Films Book Of Monsters! I know, yes I am late to the review party,
but ha, I had to get me 2.5 cents in! Going to keep this review
short, why cause it has to be!
Book
of Monsters for me plays out like a horror comedy, yet, has elements
of Never Ending Story, haah, well only the book part! Plus I mean
there are evil redheads, scary gnomes and just various random
craziness! It seems to borrow from other films but never copy them,
so there is a chainsaw attack near the end, but the film is not Texas
Chainsaw Massacre.
The
key here is a bit of horror diversity as it is not a slasher film but
has elements of it, not a jump scare film, but there are scares, not
a true comedy horror but has comedy and horror in it. Book of
Monsters is an eclectic mix of horror ideas, meshed into a bizarre
yet entertaining package! Standing out is actress
OK
so get the film, it is out now!, Book of Monsters rates a 6.5 out of
10! I recommend a definite rent, buy it if you dig indie horror comedies mixed
with action!
The
film is out now on AMAZON! Also for rent on various platforms for 3
or 4 dollars!
Above Photo: Interface (Chris Jai Alex as Lazarus) (C) 2019 Ben Ramsey (Dan's Movie Report - Exclusive!
Greetings
valued Dan's Movie Report readers, of course I have another exclusive
news item to drop! Ben Ramsey told me that he uploaded the hot new 4K
action short film trailer for Interface on March 30th
2019! He stated to me the current progress so far: Interface is in
final sound design now and color grading, then the project is done!
He also told me that the film is in picture lock at 28 minutes and
just have to add in the closing credits as well. Ben states that the
film should be ready in 2 to 3 months. He wants to have it ready for
the ComiCon and Summer and Fall Film fests like Urban Action
Showcase!
Above: some radical CGI on Interface!! It is cool as hell for an indie! (C) 2019 Ben Ramsey (Dan's Movie Report Exclusive)
Not
only do I have some exclusive stills, the entire cast has been
announced and it is on IMDB as well: Chris Jai Alex plays Lazarus, a
central character, Kinyumba Mutakabbir plays Andre Bakari, he also
starred in Black Salt, the amazing short film that was released in
2015. Michelle C. Lee plays Brix. Michelle most recently was in
Venom! Also she did some kick ass action in Captain Marvel! Some cool
additions include Pamelyn Chee as Operator 749, and Sophie Norman,
who plays a pretty cool role! Overall a diverse cast with interesting
backgrounds! BELOW is the epic 4k Interface Trailer!
As
many of you know Ben Ramsey was the director of Blood and Bone, a
really amazing film starring Michael Jai White. He also worked as the
director on Black Salt short film! Below is some of the older news on
the project---
Above: a SCARY future AWAITS in INTERFACE~ (C) 2019 Ben Ramsey (Dan's Movie Report Exclusive)
August
9th 2018: Producer Daniel Zirilli (Please check out our Interview-
http://dansmoviereport.blogspot.com/2016/04/director-daniel-zirilli-interview-dans.html
)joins Interface to push the project to the next level: Daniel
Zirilli "When you see the insane action co-creators Ben Ramsey
and Arnold Chon and team created and the whole cinematic universe we
are expanding for INTERFACE and the various media involved- it will
blow your mind. The action sequences alone surpass anything I’ve
been involved in to date. I’m so happy to be a producer on a
project like this- though will take a while to fulfill its destiny -
I am down for coming together with these creative geniuses. Mark my
words. You will see!"
Above: The fights take flight in Interface!!!! (C) 2019 Ben Ramsey (Dan's Movie Report Exclusive)
July
2018: Ben Ramsey, who directed the amazing short film Black Salt and
the full force action feature Blood and Bone released a comic book
called Interface. The book details a horrific, yet beautiful near
future nightmare where the world is jacked into consciousness and
crimes, criminals and law enforcement have undulating, yet blurred
lines of existence..
After
completing principle photography on the initial sonic blast of the
first episode, Ben Ramsey, and the intrepid main cast of seasoned
professional action people such as Emmy winner Master James Lew as
stunt coordinator Chris
Jai Alex , Michelle
Lee , Kinyumba
Mutakabbir (Both Michelle and Kinyumba starred in 'Black Salt'.
The amazing Arnold Chon is one of the films producers. The short i
ready to be unleashed to the world! Watch for more information soon
on your home for exclusives, Dan's Movie Report.
The appx.
running time for Interface is 28 minutes, incidentally, of course,
this film is shot in 4K! Hard action in UHD!!!
Greetings
my esteemed and valued Dan's Movie Report and Action-Flix readers, After binge
watching the amazing HBO series Grisse, and watching her various
action videos, I knew that Hazuki Kato is someone to watch now and on
into the future. She has the skill, look, and demeanor that will take
her far in this the film and TV World! The future of action is
looking brighter than ever for ladies who are willing to put in the
work and time to hone their craft. Incidentally, after I conducted
this interview, I recently watched Atomic Eden, another full on
action blast featuring Hazuki! Enough of my babbling on, once again
time for another exclusive, and fascinating interview on Dan's Movie
Report.
DT:
Chat about how you decided to begin martial arts training at the
young age of 10.
HK: I started Classic Ballet when I
was 3 years old. I was very flexible and loved to perform on stage
but didn’t really like going to practice. My mother continued to
take me to classes until I was 10 years old but one day she told me
that I should maybe try Karate because it would fit my personality
better. l really enjoyed my first day in Karate class. I was a
10-year-old girl who started Kyokushin Karate in my hometown in
Saitama, Japan.
DT: Wow, such an interesting transition. Was
there an influential Sensei early on in your training? What are some
of the things that he or she said to you that have stuck with you
until now?
HK: I have two very
influential martial arts sensei in my life.
The
first is my very first Karate teacher whom I met when I was 10 years
old in Japan, Chikara Takahashi sensei. I was too young to remember
what he said to me exactly but at the time, I had no confidence and
felt like I was not good enough to do anything compared to my peers.
I was very insecure. But I remember Chikara sensei having amazing
positive energy and I would gain confidence whenever I go to the Dojo
and train karate with him. (I was good at high kicks because of my 7
years of ballet lessons. A lot of flexibility!)
The second is
my first Martial Arts teacher in the US, Sifu Ray Copeland from
RCSOMA. I met him right after graduating college when I started to
take my acting career very seriously. I was so fortunate to have
met him. He introduced me to a whole new world of Jeet Kune Do, Muay
Thai, Kali, and the philosophy of martial arts. I became
intrigued with the martial arts he introduced me to and dove right
in. The martial arts training not only helped me physically, but also
mentally by keeping my mind healthy, strong, and positive. If I
hadn’t met him, I don’t think I would still be continuing martial
arts to this day in the US. Sifu Ray tells me “Don’t think,
Feel.” This stuck with me. I tend to think too much and sometimes
my body won’t follow. However, I think this applies not only to
martial arts, but also to acting. Don’t think, Feel!
DT:
I think this is wonderful to give thanks to those who have influenced
you. I read and watched videos of you, obviously have trained in
various disciplines of martial arts, do you have a preference, one
that you enjoy practicing more than others?
HK: I enjoy
Muay Thai and kick boxing the most. I would also like to focus on
improving my Japanese Sword fighting skills.
DT: Chat about
transitioning from martial arts to acting, and modeling. How did the
transition occur? (Schooling, auditioning etc..)
HK: I first
started modeling when I was a college student. I then transitioned to
acting and action training when I graduated.
DT:
I watched your recent 2019 action demo, it is full on amazing, are you
focusing your career on action projects, or does it not matter the
show or film, the style?
HK:I’d love to work on
action projects as I truly enjoy physical action, however as an actress I
would also love to work on any genre such as human drama, comedy,
etc…it won’t matter if there is fight scene in it or not.
If
I can work with people who have the same passion, with people whom I
can respect and trust, the type or style of the project would not
matter.
DT: Great to be open to diverse roles.
How did you come to audition and have a role in the amazing HBO Asia
Series Grisse, which is now on HBO USA!?
HK:I sent my acting tape, action reel,
and recent action clips from LA to Singapore. I really appreciate
this opportunity and it was an amazing experience!!
DT:
I think the added action tapes were a kick ass idea literally!
Describe your character in the show.
HK:My role is a
cold-hearted female assassin called RIEKA who is a Kunoichi. Kunoichi
is a female ninja.
DT: Let us chat
about what is in the future for Hazuki, new projects.
HK: I
am scheduled to shoot a Sci-Fi action film called “Garrison 7”
this year. At this moment, I am auditioning for new projects, going
to acting class, and continuing my action training in Los Angeles.
I
would also love to work internationally such as in Asia or Europe.
Actually I would love to work anywhere in the world!
DT:
Chat a bit about your modeling career and how you balance it with
your martial arts training and skill.
HK: I don’t really
like doing anything I’m not interested in… lol!
I
love martial arts training, and I love improving my action skills so I
go to the gym to train my body. That’s my motivation. If I just go
to the gym to keep my body looking fit for modeling, I don’t think
I would have enough motivation to continue working out every day.
So
currently I’m focusing on what I love to do (action/martial arts)
and keeping my body fit while doing it so as a result, I can also do
modeling. That’s how I balance my two careers. I focus on training,
and as a result, I’ll keep a fit body that will enable me to model
as well.
DT:
Finally, how about some final thoughts on the recent rise of more
Asian characters in films and TV shows. Do you feel that competition
for work has increased? How do you set yourself apart and show your
individuality in an audition?
HK: I think it’s
awesome! There are definitely more Asian roles in TV and Films these
past years and I am grateful for this trend. I get called in for
various projects that are not only looking for Asian roles but also
for “all ethnicity” roles. Shows are now trying to find more
possibilities in diverse ethnicities.
Also,
when shows look for Japanese specific roles, they now prefer casting
authentic Japanese actors. I think in the past this category was very
vague and Asian roles were grouped into one Asian category. It didn’t
really matter if we were Japanese, Japanese American, Chinese,
Korean, Asian American, etc… … we were all put into one single
Asian group. I am eager to play various roles, but one of my
strengths and uniqueness is that I was born and raised in Japan so I
am very Japanese.
I
might add that although I’m an authentic Japanese actress, I also
have a very strong action type look, so that would be my uniqueness
as well. I’m taller and more tough looking than the average
Japanese actress. Lol
I
also have a very unique “Asian” look that is not bound to any
specific Asian ethnicity so I could use that as an advantage to play
a wide variety of roles as well.
Though
competition may be fiercer, because the acting world is a very
competitive industry anyway. I believe that more Asian roles equal
more opportunity.
In
this competitive environment, I face many rejections every day, but
this experience has made me into a tougher individual who believes in
herself even more. I am looking forward to continuing this crazy
Hollywood adventure!
Thank
you so much for this wonderful interview.
DT:
An amazing way to conclude an interview! Hazuki, your answers are as
illuminating as your talent and personality! I am sure the film and
TV World will be seeing more of your work in the very near future. Please connect with her on the following links:
