petep

There is no general theatrical or digital release date yet for Raze (as of this post), so I can't tell you when you might see it, but it's worth a look for fans of horror or, well, tournament fighting movies. This movie is very lean. It doesn't include anything it doesn't need. Women who are athletic or who have some sort of fighting experience are being kidnapped, held in some hidden underground prison, and forced to fight to the death, for the entertainment of rich folks of course. If the women lose or refuse to fight, their closest loved ones will be killed. Doug Jones and Sherilyn Fenn are the cheerfully creepy married couple running things. Zoe Bell, also a producer, is one of the fighters, killing to help protect a daughter she hasn't seen in many years. Other fighters include familiar faces like Rachel Nichols, Tracie Thoms, and Rosario Dawson. It's very dark, and brutally violent, but not exploitative. It's not "sexist sh1t!" as one unhappy viewer shouted at the director and star after our screening (though he still stayed for the entire film). I couldn't say anything about the most surprising or rewarding bits of the movie without major spoilers, so let me just say do NOT be deterred by the low IMDb rating. It's a good one!

We come to The Stunt People for their incredible action skills (and they are certainly on display here), but Rope-A-Dope is extremely funny. I was thrilled to see this at Ric Meyers' annual kung fu panel at San Diego Comic-Con this year, and Eric Jacobus was in attendance to present as well. His performance is flawless and I can't wait to share it with everyone else in anticipation of the huge laughs it will no doubt earn.

I can't help but mention Groundhog Day when describing this short. Instead of using an endlessly repeating day to win Andie MacDowell's heart, The Dope is suffering from a series of annoyances and frustrations ending with an attack from a local gang. He becomes determined to figure out how best to deal with this gang.