Carolyn Lee Adams
‘Warrior’ and other fight favorites hit Netflix this February
Love stories abound on Netflix this month—sad, happy, and funny—so it will be a little harder than usual to find a little of the ol’ ultraviolence to cleanse the palate. But the February action on offer is a solid line-up of stalwart classics, with a couple of original releases as well. 1.) Batman Begins (2005) […]
Interview: Michael Jai White on Mike Perry, Cowboy Cerrone, and his new movie ‘The Commando’
Michael Jai White’s career is inextricably linked with combat sports. While the headline of his bio might be his groundbreaking role as the first Black superhero in a major movie (Spawn, 1997), his personal breakthrough role was his 1995 portrayal of Mike Tyson in the HBO movie Tyson. He has subsequently developed a diverse filmography, […]
Rickson Gracie expands on infidelity secrets done to ‘create a clan of fighters’
Last August, Rickson Gracie’s autobiography, Breathe: A Life in Flow, was released and reviewed by Bloody Elbow. Now the MMA legend has expanded on the secret he shared in that book—the true identity of his biological mother—on the Portuguese-language podcast, Trocação Franca. “My uncle and my father had the intention to create a clan of […]
‘Cobra Kai’ releases new posters ahead of season four premiere
The Karate Kid reboot that premiered on a now-defunct YouTube platform has become a Netflix juggernaut. As Cobra Kai nears the kick off of season four, the show’s producers are taking to social media to drum up business, while the official Twitter account released the new season’s poster. The soul of the valley is up […]
Interview: Dolph Lundgren talks to Bloody Elbow about his latest movie, ‘Castle Falls’
There are few action movie stars as iconic as Dolph Lundgren. The man who made his first splash in Hollywood playing the seemingly unbreakable Ivan Drago in Rocky IV has carved out a nearly 40-year career in front of the camera playing everything from He-Man and the Punisher to Konstantin Kovar in the CW show […]
UFC champ Michael Bisping goes dark in ‘Never Back Down: Revolt’
Michael Bisping is many things. The UFC fighter turned unlikely UFC middleweight Champion, is commentator, newly minted author, and an actor who has built up a pretty lengthy filmography. His latest role is in the new installment of the Never Back Down MMA franchise, Never Back Down Revolt. As Bisping explained on his Twitter account, […]
Video: Halle Berry’s ‘Bruised’ drops its first trailer
Halle Berry’s Bruised has released its first trailer ahead of its November 24 release on Netflix. As promised, the redemption story is centered upon a former UFC star who is now down and out. When her son unexpectedly comes back into her life, she decides to launch a comeback. While the trailer definitely hits the […]
Editorial: Why that Jon Jones video makes me so uncomfortable
Jon Jones was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence on September 24, 2021.
‘Rocky IV’ director’s cut headed to a theatre near you
Fun fact about the making of Rocky IV: Sylvester Stallone suggested he and Dolph Lundgren hit each other for real. Stallone took some body shots and felt a burning in his chest, but like any red blooded American in the mid ‘80’s pretending to fight a Russian, he ignored it, and soldiered on. Unfortunately, the […]
‘Warrior’ TV spin-off will star former UFC champ Daniel Cormier
Ten years ago, Gavin O’Connor’s passion project about MMA hit the big screen. It starred Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton, and Nick Nolte, and was produced by the Hollywood powerhouse Lionsgate. Despite the team behind it, Warrior flopped. However, thanks to streaming services, the MMA movie about the Conlon brothers found a second life and became […]
The ‘Cobra Kai’ juggernaut keeps rolling as season 5 is announced
What does it take for Netflix to keep a show going? An awful lot, but in the case of Cobra Kai it looks like four Emmy nominations (Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy, Outstanding Stunt Performance, and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy) will suffice. Although there are some notable exceptions (Orange […]
Martial arts legend Sonny Chiba dies from COVID
For many Americans, their introduction to Sonny Chiba was through the 1993 movie True Romance. Chiba did not appear in the movie, but it was penned by Chiba fan Quentin Tarantino, and therefore the hero, Clarence, played by Christian Slater, was also a huge fan. Quentin Tarantino was not content in simply having Chiba mentioned […]
Brad Allan, leader of Jackie Chan’s stunt team, dies at 48
On Saturday, August 7th, Jackie Chan took to his blog to communicate to friends and fans about the loss of two members of his stunt team. Yang Sheng, a member of the team since 1984, had passed away from illness. Chan had also just received word that Brad Allan, 48, had also passed away from […]
Halle Berry’s MMA drama ‘Bruised’ gets official release date
Back in September of 2019, Bloody Elbow spoke with screenwriter Michelle Rosenfarb about the evolution of her screenplay, Bruised. The project had gone through significant story development, with Halle Berry and Rosenfarb working together to bring to life the story of a UFC fighter looking for a comeback. At the time, the film was clicking […]
Georges St-Pierre gives Danny Trejo a karate lesson
Karate Combat, the full contact karate league, is now in its third season. Georges St. Pierre, now wholly committed to his new career in front of the camera, has taken on the role of “Season Sensei” for the competing fighters. Danny Trejo has been a part of Karate Combat from the beginning, acting as a […]
Interview: Emmy-nominated ‘Cobra Kai’ stunt performer Jahnel Curfman
Stunt performer and coordinator Jahnel Curfman is one of the hardest working women in Hollywood. It is not unusual for her to pull double duty on high profile projects, working behind the camera as a stunt coordinator and in front of it as a stunt performer and stunt double for the lead actress. Still, the […]
The Emmys add Outstanding Stunt Performance Award
2021 marks the 73rd edition of The Emmys. Back in 2002, when the Emmys were turning 54 years old, the institution recognized stunt work for the first time with the Award for Outstanding Stunt Coordination. Along with other year end awards such as the Oscars, the Emmys have long been criticized for being slow to […]
Book Review: Rickson Gracie’s memoir ‘Breathe’ spills a lot of tea
Rickson Gracie is very proud of being humble. And that is only the beginning of the paradoxes that surround the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu legend. An alpha personality in the dojo, within his family he took a backseat to his brothers. Born with a fierce temperament, he adopts wild animals, gentling them into pets. Adamantly in […]
Tarantino accuses Bruce Lee of having ‘nothing but disrespect for American stuntmen’
Tarantino pulls no punches, and claims the same was true of Bruce Lee. The auteur was on The Joe Rogan Experience to promote his latest project, a 400 page novelization of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and talk quickly turned to Tarantino’s controversial take on the martial artist. “Where I am coming from is […]
Upcoming G.I. Joe movie ‘Snake Eyes’ stars martial artists Andrew Koji and Iko Uwais
While actor Henry Golding may have snagged the eponymous role of Snake Eyes, dedicated martial artists are well represented in the latest installation of the G.I. Joe franchise, with Warrior’s Andrew Koji and The Raid’s Iko Uwais playing Storm Shadow and Hard Master, respectively. (Although Golding did spend four hours a day learning sword skills […]
Original ‘Mortal Kombat’ and ‘Karate Kid’ among fight films coming to Netflix in July
Summertime is the perfect time for action movie goodness, something Netflix knows well, and so it is offering fans a nice slate of new movies to choose from this July. Whether you’re interested in some nostalgia (Karate Kid), a more recent addition to the pantheon of action greats (Snowpiercer), or a new release (Gunpowder Milkshake) […]
Michael Bisping’s autobiography ‘Quitters Never Win’ released in the US
Previously released in the UK, Michael Bisping’s autobiography, Quitters Never Win: My Life in the UFC, has now hit American shelves. Published by Diversion Books, the new release offers expanded content, with a chapter about Bisping’s induction into the UFC Hall of Fame. Independent of the obvious—Bisping’s unlikely rise to become a UFC Middleweight Champion—the […]
Five fight films coming your way on Netflix and theaters this June
Summertime is the perfect time to catch a little of the ol’ violence on screens big and small, and while some of these releases are more drama or comedy than action, they all pack a punch. 1. Million Dollar Baby (2004) – Hilary Swank famously packed on nineteen pounds of muscle training with bodybuilding champion […]
Triller Fight Club enters the reality show game with ‘So You Think You Can Fight’
Triller Fight Club has brought reality show kingpin Nigel Lythgoe on board as a “creative partner, visionary and executive producer,” according to Variety. Lythgoe’s first project at bat is a weekly, hourlong series called, So You Think You Can Fight? Like Lythgoe’s other shows, it will involve audience participation and voting. Instead of having judges, […]
Video: Oscar Isaac gets his fight on for Disney+’s ‘Moon Knight’
Oscar Isaac has had the kind of career most actors would die for. After his breakthrough role in the Coen Brothers film Inside Llewyn Davis (2013), he has gone on to star in a wide variety of movies, from smart, award-winning features like A Most Violent Year (2014) to the Star Wars franchise, where he […]
Video: Mortal Kombat releases behind-the-scenes trailer
One month ago, the new Mortal Kombat movie released its first trailer which set viewership records in its first week, so it is safe to say fans are excited about this latest installment in the Mortal Kombat franchise. This latest trailer ups the ante with interviews and behind-the-scenes footage of the making of the highly […]
Bestselling author Wesley Chu’s ‘War Arts Saga’ on its way to the small screen
Wesley Chu is a New York Times Bestselling author with ten books under his belt, but the next three figure to be the most lucrative yet. The War Arts Saga trilogy will be published from 2022-2024. The rights to the upcoming novels were acquired by Sony Pictures Television and Neal H. Mortiz’s Original Film. Jason […]
Upcoming ‘Kung Fu’ reboot more than just entertainment
When CW’s martial arts drama Kung Fu debuts April 7th, the energy surrounding the show might be different than the one the creators envisioned when the reboot was first conceived. While Anti-Asian racism is nothing new, Anti-Asian hate crimes increased by 150% in 2020. In this atmosphere, the show’s creative team is well aware of […]
Georges St-Pierre brings jiu-jitsu to ‘Falcon and the Winter Soldier’
Georges St-Pierre was not expecting to return to the MCU universe after his role in Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014). Yet he could not help but notice “My character did not die,” St-Pierre told The Wrap. With Batroc the Leaper alive and well and able to return to fight for the forces of evil, the […]
‘Mortal Kombat’ team offers fans a look into upcoming reboot
The Mortal Kombat reboot is becoming one of the more anticipated releases of 2021, especially after the epic trailer was released last month. Syfy Wire got an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the production while in progress, and wrote up their findings. For martial arts fans, director Simon McQuoid’s emphasis on fight choreography will be of […]