Released: February 2011

Director: Jino Kang

Run Time: 92 Minutes

Rated R

Distributor: Screen Media

Genre: Action/Martial Arts

Cast:
Jino Kang: Ken
Bill Duff: Tokyo Joe
Michael Bauld: Erik
Gina Beratta: Anita
Peter Woodrow: Jim
Melissa Tan: Mimi

As someone who watches a LOT of martial arts flicks, it’s rare for me to see a newcomer show up and take the genre by storm, especially in this day and age.  Tony Jaa, Scott Adkins, and even Tiger Schroff from India have made their mark on the genre over the past decade.  It’s really awesome to see new people come on up and show what they can do.  Some are more successful than others, but I’ve always felt that it’s for the best to let them try.  Sometimes it takes more than one movie to really get going.  It’s even harder in the indie film scene to really make a mark.  Master Jino Kang is one of those actors and film makers that people really need to start paying attention to.  While Master Kang’s filmography is pretty small, according to IMDB, what I have seen from this guy has been nothing less than impressive.  With films like Fist 2 Fist, Weapon of Choice, and Kid Fury, Master Kang has quickly become one of my favorite indie film makers.

Fist 2 Fist begins as we see a man named Ken and another person infiltrate a chop-shop and take on the shop’s owners.  Sometime later, we see a young drug addict try to take on Ken, but is totally out-matched.  It seems the kid was bait by a criminal known as Tokyo Joe to find Ken.  It seems that Ken and Tokyo Joe have a very sordid history, that involved a robbery that went wrong years ago.  Ken had turned Joe into the authorities, and now Joe is on the warpath.  The overall plot is nothing new.  It’s been done and seen a million times before.  It’s not a bad setup, far from it.  What separates Fist 2 Fist and Weapon of Choice from other martial arts flicks is the amount of introspection that Master Kang brings to his characters and story.  There is a thoughtfulness and hesitation with Ken getting back back into fighting.  His character would rather find a more peaceful solution until he’s forced to fight.  While the character’s students are a little more hotheaded, it’s awesome to see a character that’s far more level-headed.

Even if you may not be impressed with the overall story, the action in the film is astounding.  Not only did Master Kang write and direct Fist 2 Fist, he also choreographed the film’s fight scenes.  I have to say, these were some of the best fight scenes I’ve seen in years.  They even rival fight scenes from some of the more mainstream and big-budget films.  There’s no wire-fu going on here.  Master Kang takes an old-fashioned approach to the fights that is far compelling than something like The Matrix.  I love it when fights are grounded in reality.  Not only does the film feature the use of Hapkido, of which Master Kang is a 7th Degree Black Belt, it also features the use of Tae Kwon Do, and various forms of mixed martial arts.  The fights are varied and mostly well-shot.  I say mostly, because there are some fights where the camera gets in a little too close for my taste.  Even so, the fights are easy to see and are thrilling to watch.  I also love the fact that the main character is not invincible.  He gets shot at, slashed, stabbed and almost gets crushed by a car.  This movie had me on the edge of my seat.

One of the things that’s very surprising about movies like Fist 2 Fist, is when the lead actor takes on so many different of the film’s production.  Not only does Master Kang direct, choreograph and produce the film, he also has the added challenge of starring as main lead in the film.  That’s NOT an easy thing to do, and a lot of film makers that have attempted to do so, have not been successful.  Master Kang not only manages to do all that, he also turns in a very compelling performance as Ken, a man who is haunted by his past and is trying to atone for his past sins.  The kid that plays Jim, the character that tries to rob Ken at the beginning of the film is not only appropriately hot-headed at times,  but gives a convincing level of inner conflict when certain truths come to light.  Melissa Tan plays Mimi, Ken’s wife.  While Melissa’s performance was fine, I felt that the character was not as supportive of Ken as she probably could’ve been.  That’s a personal nitpick of mine, though.  The one thing I did have an issue with though, was the character of Speed.  The guy that plays speed is clearly a martial artist and his performance, again, was fine, but my issue here was the way the character was written.  When he started doing his Bruce Lee thing, that kind of took me out of it, a little bit.  Bill Duff gets to be pretty intimidating as Tokyo Joe, and is surprisingly not as sadistic as a lot of the villains that I’ve seen over the years.  Joe has a target in mind and he definitely goes for.  I like the fact that Duff doesn’t overdo it.  The character is not totally over-the-top.  I really do appreciate it when actors that play villains exercise a bit of restraint…..mostly.

Overall, I have to say that I’m really impressed with Fist 2 Fist.  Not only does it feature some of the best martial arts sequences I’ve ever seen, it also manages to have a story that feels both personal and engaging.  The performances are really good across the board, with Master Kang stealing the show.  If you’re a fan of martial arts movies, action movies, or even independent films, you owe it to yourself to check out Fist 2 Fist.  I recently did an interview with Master Kang, so you can check out the interview by hitting the Interviews tab at the top of the page.  It’s pretty informative and entertaining.  Master Jino Kang is one to keep an eye on in the future.  I know I will.  I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next.

Final Recommendation: Never mess with a Hapkido master, he may drop a car on you.  9/10

 

Welcome, fellow Space Cadets!  We have another interview for you today.  This time, we have an interview with Jino Kang, the man behind Fist 2 Fist, Weapon of Choice, and the short film, Kid Fury.  In advance I would like to thank Master Kang for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer a few of our questions.  Master Kang holds a 7th degree blackbelt in Hapkido as well as black belts in Tae Kwon Do, Kyokoshinkai Karate, and Gracie Jiu-jitsu.  Let’s have a chat with Master Kang!

Q:   I would like to start with your background in martial arts.  If I recall, the art that you have the most experience in is Hapkido.  But you’ve also trained in Tae Kwon Do, Kyokoshinkai Karate, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and USA Judo.  How has studying the martial arts influence your decision to start making movies? 

A: Well, I noticed that in action films, whenever martial arts were choreographed, the action was usually one or two styles.  For example, Steven Seagal’s movies utilized Aikido and some Wing Chun moves.  The more pronounced Kung Fu films from China was just Kung Fu.  Nowadays, films like John Wick franchise films, utilize BJJ and Judo while Bourne Franchise incorporate Kali and MMA.  Since I trained in so many styles, it opened my eyes to various styles that can be utilized for entertaining choreography.  Also, in my films, I welcome all different martial arts to shine and showoff their styles.

Q:  Who has been your biggest influence in the martial arts?

A:  Bruce Lee, of course as well as Toshiro Mifune.  My late father Myung S. Kang was the driving force that kept me moving forward too and never stop learning.  He never pushed me but always there for support.

Q: For Weapon of Choice, how did you become involved in the project and how much has your martial arts experience influence the direction of the film’s production?

A: Weapon of Choice came about when I met Tony Urgo who was the editor for Fist 2 Fist.  We talked about doing another film but not an MMA film, which was dominating the market at the time.  I wrote first 70 pages and created all the characters, Tony finished the final 30 pages and polished the script.  The rest just fell in to place.  We knew we had a great script and everything else just lined up – like magic.

Q: You wrote and directed Weapon of Choice.  What was the biggest challenge in getting the film from concept to the final picture?

A:  The money, of course.  It’s always about the funding.  We didn’t quite have everything that I wanted to bring in to the picture like name talents and locations.  But it worked out in the end.  You make the best as you can with what you’ve got.

Q: Since making a film is largely a very collaborative effort, how much input did you receive from the actors and crew as for how they should approach a particular scene?

A:  I’m not the micro-manager type.  I look at the auditions and if I see that they have potential to bring that character live and make me believe it, that’s all I need.  Since it’s all in the script, the actors need to be able to decipher what’s written and what’s not written, read between the lines, and bring it during the shoot is all that matters.  The actors may ask to have a few line changes to flow better, than it’s all right with me as long as the context is true to the story we are telling.

Q:  Was there a point during filming or post-production were you got frustrated with the process and how did you overcome that particular challenge?

A:  Again, it’s about the money.  Because of budget constraint, we don’t have enough time to shoot at that particular location.  For instance, I wish I had 15 more days to shoot, then I believe the film would have been perfect.  I heard films like “RAID” had six months to shoot and we shot Weapon of Choice in 30 days.

Q: When it comes to critiquing a film, I try to be as fair and open as possible.  How do you respond to negative criticisms of your films?

A: I usually have a punching bag nearby when I read a new review.  Ha, Ha, just kidding.  Luckily the reviews have been great.  I’d say 90 percent positive reviews.  But all kidding aside, what irks me the most is some guy in Dubai or Bulgaria (not blaming all those folks) who probably pirated our film because I know we didn’t sell to those territories, saw first two minutes of our film and first to criticize on imdb.  The intro credits haven’t even finished rolling.  Whatever, take a deep breath and move on.  Sometimes rolling in BJJ really helps, those poor students.  Just kidding, again.  No, not really.

Q: For Kid Fury, how did you come across Timothy Mah and how impressed were you with him in general?

A: Would you believe Timothy started in Hapkido with me when he was five years old?  Yep, now he’s a young man with a bright future in whatever he tackles.  He’s third degree black belt trained over ten years.  My, how time flies.  He’s first love is Guitar/Musician but I think he has a huge potential as an action star too.

Q: Is there any martial arts actor that you would really like to work with in the future and why?

A:  For sure, like Scott Adkins, Michael Jai White and JCVD.  Because these guys are truly talented and driven, they represent role models for future generations to come.

Q:  I absolutely had to ask this question for sure:  What is your favorite martial arts movie and why?

A:  Well, that’s a tough one, because I have a few.  Seven Samurai, Chinese Connection (aka Fist of Fury), Once upon a Time in the West and Yojimbo!  I’ll talk about Yojimbo, if you don’t mind.  The story is compelling and shot exquisitely in black and white.   I love that Toshiro Mifune’s character is morally ambiguous but you know he’s a good guy.  Standing in smack dab in the middle of two evil sides he ingeniously negotiate to eliminate each other.  The sword fighting is entertaining but the story telling is absolutely phenomenal.

Q: Again, thank you for your time for answering these questions and I’m really looking forward to what you’ve got planned in the future.

A: Thanks so much for the interview.   All my best, Jino

As you can see, Master Jino Kang not only understands the ins and outs of indie film making, he also manages to have a sense of humor about some of the processes.  It has been absolutely fantastic asking Master Kang these questions.  As I said in the interview, I can’t wait to see what he has in store for us.  If you want to learn more about Master Jino Kang, please check out his website here: http://jinokang.com/index.html.  If you would like to check out the stuff that he’s done, here are the trailers for Fist 2 Fist, Weapon of Choice, and Kid Fury:

 

 

 

           

Greetings, fellow Space Cadets, we have another interview for you today.  This one comes from Albert Pyun, the mind behind such films as The Sword and the Sorcerer, Cyborg, Nemesis and Road To Hell.  For this interview, I chose to keep the questions somewhat brief, as well as avoiding the 10-question format.  Mr. Pyun is going through some…rough times right now, so I didn’t want to cause any undue stress.  That being said, I would like to thank Mr. Pyun for being willing to answer some questions.  I will be leaving some links below after the interview for Albert Pyun’s official website as well as trailers for Road To Hell and his upcoming Interstellar Civil War.  Let’s have a chat with Mr. Albert Pyun!

Q: My first question is about Cyborg. What was it like working with Jean-Claude Van Damme? Did he provide any insight into how his character would behave in certain situations?

A: well, jean-claude was quite young back then, not terribly experienced yet. i remember he listened to everything and absorbed everything. our dicussions were rather one sided except about the fights.

Q: What was your response to the overall reception of Cyborg?

A: i was in europe prepping captain america so i didn’t learn of reactions until I was online

Q: How difficult was it to transition from working on movies for big studios to working on films that you distribute yourself?

A: every film i did for studios was a deeply unhappy experience. yes, the films would get worldwide distribution but they weren’t my vision. so the heartbreak was overwhelming, films i distributed on my own had no interference and were my vision, good or bad – lol.

Q: Are there any independent film makers that have inspired you and what films would you recommend from them?

A: oh, there are many but its mostly the films that affected me. i respected any filmmaker who made films that reflected their vision without giving in to market or financial forces.

Q: You have worked with some of the biggest stars over the years. Who was your favorite one to work with and why?

A: Ive enjoyed them al. each brought a level of professionalism and artistic integrity to their work. i was always surprised at their level of commttment, even Seagal. really enjoyed them and tried to create an environment where they could do good work. recently i really enjoyed working for the cast of Interstellar civil war. new to me artists like ellie church, kelsey carlisle, fulvia santoni, ashley campbell, nick rush and jennie carroll, they inspired me.

Q: For Road to Hell, what was your inspiration for the film’s story?

A: i saw streets of fire in 1983 at a screening at universal. this was before it had been released. it blew my mind and burned into me soul. i more than loved it. it had the single greatest influence on my filmmaking. so i’d always wanted to dabble in this world. i got to know michael pare and soon, i came up with idea that became rth. good or bad, loved or hated, i made the film as a loving homage to walter hill.

While this was pretty brief, it was still informative.  Again, I would like to extend my gratitude towards Mr. Pyun for taking the time to answer some questions.  I know that Mr. Pyun and his family are going through some pretty tough times right now, so I would like my best wishes and my hope for the best in his situation.  Mr. Pyun has an upcoming movie called Interstellar Civil War, so here is a poster and a trailer for the upcoming sci-fi flick as well as a trailer for Road To Hell:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlsRxelnoZg&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F21VXDlKWOY

For Mr. Pyun’s Website: http://www.albertpyun.net/

I also want to give a quick shout out to an organization called Alzheimer’s Association.  They are an organization dedicated to eliminating Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia through research.  They also want to provide care and support to any and all who are affected.  You can click here to find out more.

Greetings and salutations fellow Space Cadets!  I have something special for you tonight.  I was given the opportunity to view some recent films that starred the legendary Don “The Dragon” Wilson, which were very good.  I was also given the opportunity to ask Mr. Wilson ten questions.  He was gracious enough to provide some answers.  Before I go on, I would like to thank Mr. Wilson for taking the time out of his very busy schedule to answer some of my questions.  I would also like to extend my gratitude to David J. Moore, who allowed me to screen The Martial Arts Kid and Paying Mr. McGetty.  Without Mr. Moore, none of this would have been possible.  So thank you to both Mr. Wilson and Mr. Moore for giving me this opportunity.

As some of you may or may not know, Don “The Dragon” Wilson is an 11-time world champion kickboxer with an impressive record of 72 wins, 5 losses, 2 draws and 47 wins by knockout.  That is a very impressive resumé.  His filmography is just as impressive with Bloodfist being his first real lead role.  So, with that in mind, let’s have a chat with Don “The Dragon” Wilson.

Q: Looking back at your professional kickboxing career, which is extremely impressive, what was your most memorable match and why?

A: I had so many “memorable” fights against other Champions that it is impossible to decide which one is the “most” anything.  They all had elements of challenge and difficulty which made them stand out and uniquely satisfying.  I think my fight with Branko Cikatic, because I fought with 2 broken hands and my bout with Dennis Alexio because I had the Flu, stand out as especially tough.  Those 2 opponents became Champions of the K-1 and the ISKA World Heavyweight Champions respectively.  Neither were “walks in the Park” if I were at 100% but being diminished in both fights, I had to call upon “internal” strengths which defy physical limitations.  Or, as I sometimes say, “I got Lucky!”

Q: Has there been a competitor that you would have loved to have gone up against, but didn’t get the chance to?

A:  There were many opponents I would have enjoyed fighting but never got the chance….Rob Kamen, Bob Thurman, Ernesto Hoost, Rick Roufus, and later,  Cung Le are just a few names that come to mind.  The different rules, weight divisions, etc. would have been part of the negotiations but, unfortunately, none of these bouts materialized during my 28 year career.

Q: There are few nicknames as awesome as “The Dragon.” How did you earn such a nickname?

A: In my first Pro fight in 1974, the ring announcer came in the locker room to get everyone’s “Nick Name or Ring Name”.  I spent 10 seconds thinking about it and since I studied the Dragon Style of Kung Fu, said, “Don the Dragon Wilson”.  That was in 1974 and it’s followed me ever since that time.  I tell people, “Be careful what you say because it could be with you until you die!”

Q: When you started doing movies, you were still actively competing. How difficult was it to keep your fighting career and your movie career separate?

A: It was VERY difficult to be Professional Athlete competing at the 12 round or Championship Level and maintain and successfully Star in up to 5 Martial Arts Action Films in 13 months.  I made so much more money acting that I began to look at my “fight career” as a hobby.  I knew then, it was time to retire for the 3rd time and hang up the gloves and kicks forever.

Q: The movie that really put you on the map was Bloodfist. How many opportunities did you start getting for action movies after that film? How many did you end up turning down?

A: At one point in my career after Bloodfist, I had a dozen producers send me scripts to consider and I was already committed to do 6 films in advance with Pay/Play guarantees.  Which means, I get paid even if they don’t make the movie!  I was riding the “Video Monster” and it had to be fed with 90 minutes of action every week from all the 80’s-90’s Action Stars.  I did my best to feed the monster and with 4 HBO World Premieres, had my picture in TIME Magazine for being one of the top 4 Direct to Video Stars in the World.  At one point, I had 5 films successfully released in 13 months.   I  have made millions of dollars as an actor but probably turned down at least that amount in projects I “Passed On”.  I have many regrets…although I did make a few correct decisions in the “Biz” over the last 35 years.

Q: You’ve gone up against some pretty big names in martial arts movies like Richard Norton, Cynthia Rothrock, and Billy Blanks. Was there somebody that you would’ve loved to work with but didn’t get the opportunity?

A: I have ALWAYS wanted to work with Chuck Norris in a MA Action film and believe with the right script we could make a tremendous “Billy Jack” meets “Enter the Dragon” Classic!  It’s a dream, but many important successes in my life have started as “dreams”.

Q: How did you end up in Batman Forever as a gang leader? That was a pretty wild scene, by the way.

A: Joel Schumaker called my agent Ray Cavaleri to set up a meeting about me appearing in “Batman Forever”.  2 friends of mine, Russ Fokes and Tim Baker also worked as contacts with Mali Finn and Joel to help find a place for the Dragon in “Batman Forever”.  At first Joel considered that I would be a henchman for Tommy Lee Jones but I had too many contractual commitments to work 3 months on the film.  So, we decided I would do a 1 scene “Cameo” with Chris O Donnell (Robin) and that turned out to be the “Neon Gang Fight”.  It was fun to appear in the highest grossing film of the year and my son Jonathan loved going to the Premiere and sitting FRONT ROW!  When my scene started, he screamed, “That’s my Dad!”

Q: The Martial Arts Kid was a pretty good film with a good message about martial arts. You also co-produced the film. What was it like working side-by-side with Cynthia Rothrock, both in front of and behind the camera?

A:  Cynthia and I have been close friends since the mid 80’s.  We lived on the same street in Beverly Hills when I first moved to LA and, later, she lived up the street from my home in Woodland Hills, we both got our Black Belts in the same style of Kung Fu, Pai Lum , and we have had the same agent throughout our careers.  What are the Odds of these complete coincidences?  We’ve discussed these strange similarities and realize that there are many reasons we are very comfortable working together on movie sets.  As far as, behind the camera, we have been friends for over 30 years.

Q: For Paying Mr. McGetty, which was a pretty funny film, a good chunk of the humor came from you. How much of that was improvised?

A: Well, I do not recall saying or doing anything which I would find funny or comedy.  My character Shota is a “Hit Man” and I did not portray him as going out of his way to “make a joke”.  If it was funny, it was the Director Michael Baumgarten as the writer, Director and working with the Editor making my character “amusing”.  I did think his line, I think it goes, “20 seconds, a lot longer than I thought it would take” in reference to the “all night ass kicking” was meant to be funny though.  If audiences enjoy this film and my performance I may continue to seek work as an actor and not just the “good guy” or “lead” in a film.  It was fun and I enjoyed the experience.  But, it’s up to the audiences….if they like seeing a different “Dragon” once in a while, I will have more opportunities to continue as an “actor” and not just MA Action Actor.

Q: What was it like playing a character that started off as a villain, but kind of changed over the course of the film? Would you actually consider playing a full-on bad guy at some point?

A: I would love to play a really EVIL bad guy and, as I said earlier, if audiences will support my performances, then directors will continue to offer me different types of roles-characters to play.  So, it’s not ultimately up to me.  My Fans and the audiences control what actors are offered.  I’d love to do many different types of roles and hope they continue to support me as an actor like they have as an Action Star.  Best Wishes and Thanks for this honor to speak to your audience.

As you can see, Mr. Wilson has a great deal of experience and knowledge that you generally don’t see out of most action stars during the late 80’s and early 90’s.  Once again, I would like to thank Don “The Dragon” Wilson for taking the time to talk with us and share a little bit of his careers in both sports and film making.  Mr. Wilson has a new movie coming out in September that I believe everyone should go see.  Paying Mr. McGetty hits the big screen on September 15, 2017, according to IMDB.  I have reviewed the film in question and you can check out my review by clicking the Reviews tab at the top of the page.  Meanwhile, here’s a trailer and a poster to get you excited:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaqZ3iH54lY&feature=youtu.be