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
Above: Daniel Zirilli and JuJu Chan (c) 2019 Antony Szeto
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
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
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.
Above Photos: Left -- Tony Chu, Right: Tamiko in Son's Of Anarchy
Greetings
valued Dan's Movie Report and Action-flix.com readers. In light of the recent serious
injury to stunt man Joe Watts in the U.K. On the set of Fast &
Furious 9, I am think it is so important as journalists to name stunt
people for their achievements and undeniable importance to the film
world. Stunt people risk their lives, not only to save the actors
from dangerous situations which can end their career., but often are
asked with increasing pressure to do more daring physical actions for
the enjoyment of the audience.
With the overtaking of Avatar as the
top grossing film of all time, Avengers: Endgame has some truly
amazing stunts. Today I must spotlight one of my personal favorite
stunt action professionals: Tamiko Brownlee. Tamiko recently doubled
Mantis in Avengers: Engame, doubled the Ghost character in Ant Man & The Wasp, and a did a brutal fight sequence doubling
the actress Lauren Cohen in Mile 22, where she literally was thrown
and slammed against the wall so hard that it would have probably put
a normal person in a hospital.
Tamiko
has a new stunt action reel out now and it showcases her talent and
willingness to fight for herself, and on film. Tamiko is a
professional, I also hope to see her in more speaking roles, like she
was a character on the show Mistresses. Tamiko has a clear speaking
voice and could easily play the parts of the characters she doubles.
Above: Actress JuJu Chan kicks some unlucky, or lucky guy in the face in Wu Assassins!
Greetings
valued Dan's Movie Report and Action-Flix readers. Today, July 23rd
2019 the trailer finally dropped for Netflix series Wu Assassins. The
highly anticipated series stars Iko Uwais and Katheryn Winnick. Wu
Assassins also enlists Mark Dacascos, Lewis Tan, and JuJu Chan, Celia Au, Li
Jun Li from Quantico and Tommy Flanagan from Sons of Anarchy! Full
Cast list @
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8652642/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast
Judging
from the trailer the 10 episode series looks to have some
supernatural elements with shape shifting and extra powers beyond
fighting. The action looks very entertaining with a wide variety of
fighting styles and settings. I am quite sure that after the rather
tepid Iron Fist, that this team will do a much better job. It is
important as the main character Iko is a martial artist.
In
addition this is a cross roads for Netflix. The company stock needs
to rebound, also with increased competition from Disney Plus in
November, Netflix needs new intellectual properties that are their
own not licensed. With all of the Marvel shows coming off of the
service by the end of 2021, Netflix will lose more than 100 hours of
their programming. Hopefully Wu Assassins marks a rebirth for their
series production.
Go to
www.netflix.com for further
information. Series is scheduled to be unleashed August 8th!
All Photos: (C) 2019 Paleoman Enterprises LLC Licensed exclusively to Dan's Movie Report Interview was conducted by Eric courtesy of The Cosmic Cafe Show on the set of the film. The interview was transcribed by Russ Emanuel. Please visit https://cosmiccafeshow.com/ for more information.
Greetings
valued Dan's Movie Report readers. The Assassin's Apprentice has
begun principal photography on the second short film in the series
entitled 'The Assassins Apprentice: The Silbadores of La Gomera'.
Veteran actress Tracee Lee Cocco has been cast as Gwen in the
production. She chats about her experience on Star Trek and how she
became involved in The Assassin's Apprentice. Sit back, relax, and
enjoy the text ride with Tracee.
DMR:
Deep Space Nine was my favorite of all the series as it was
intellectual and culturally diverse, curious if you have a favorite
moment on the show? I also just wanted to say I so much loved your
work and everyone's on that show.
TLC:
Probably my favorite moment on Deep Space Nine was when I played a
Ferengi and I was in the bar scene with Quark. Yeah. And there
was also, I was in a video game I believe where I was a bar-back
also, in Deep Space Nine. But I’m not quite sure, it was either
that or Voyager but, yeah, Ferengis were fun.
DMR:
I am curious, as well if you still maintain strong friendships with
anyone in particular to this day. Even beyond the Trek Conventions?
TLC:
Probably have to say Marina (Sirtis). Yes, her and I exchanged
numbers, we text each other every now and then. But, when I do see
the other cast members at conventions, oh my gosh, they drop
everything and come over and hug me. It’s great. But yeah, Gates
McFadden too, her and I, yeah. They’re very cool to me when I see
them.
DMR:
Finally, what attracted you to TAA2 and how did you come to be
involved.
TLC:
Well, I came to be involved through Paul Hickman. That’s how I met
Russ (Emanuel) and I know Ryan (T. Husk). What attracted me was, I
saw the first one and it was awesome. They’re all a bunch of great
people and it’s a great production. And I’m honored that they
gave me the opportunity to play Gwen, who’s an assassin herself but
she’s retired. Maybe she can, I don’t know, come back later,
hint, hint! Anyway, it’s a great production, the people are great,
the cast and crew are all awesome, they made me feel great. I’m
pretty sure this one’s going to kick butt too, so, I can’t wait
to see it.
Thank
you for the insight into Deep Space 9 and The Assassin's Apprentice,
looking forward to witnessing the action unfold, please connect with
Tracee Lee Cocco on her social media accounts: