Martial Arts: 82

Creed III (2023) is an American sports drama film directed by Michael B. Jordan, marking his debut as a director. Serving as the sequel to 2018’s Creed II, it is the third installment in the Creed series and ninth in the Rocky franchise. In 2002 Los Angeles, Adonis ‘Donnie’ Creed watches his friend and mentor, Golden Gloves champion ‘Diamond’ Dame Anderson, compete in an underground boxing match. Inspired by Dame’s aspirations to turn professional and become a world champion, Donnie joins him on a detour to a liquor store. However, a sudden confrontation ...

The American film, John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023), is a neo-noir action thriller directed and co-produced by Chad Stahelski. Shay Hatten and Michael Finch are credited as writers. In the movie, John Wick prepares for revenge against the High Table while hiding underground with the Bowery King in New York City. He later travels to Morocco where he takes down the Elder, known as ‘the one who sits above the Table’. Upon hearing of this, Marquis Vincent Bisset de Gramont, a member of the High Table, summons New York Continental Hotel manager Winston and his concierge Charon. The Marquis expresses disappointment in ...

Sean Durkin’s biographical sports drama film, The Iron Claw (2023), follows the story of the Von Erichs, a family of professional wrestlers plagued by a supposed curse. The film chronicles the struggles of Fritz Von Erich’s sons to live up to their father’s expectations and achieve success in the world of wrestling from 1979 to the early 1990s. As owner of World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), retired wrestler Fritz once had dreams of winning the prestigious NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship. But his focus now is on his sons: Kevin and David, who wrestle for WCCW, Kerry, who hopes to make it as ...

Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank (2022) is an animated martial arts comedy film directed by Rob Minkoff, Mark Koetsier, and Chris Bailey. It serves as a loose remake of the 1974 live-action film Blazing Saddles, and marks Koetsier and Bailey’s feature directorial debut. Set in a cat-inspired feudal Japan, the story centers around Ika Chu, a conniving high-ranking official of the Shogun. His desire to expand his palace poses a threat to the impoverished village of Kakamucho located nearby. In an attempt to ...

Day Shift (2022) is an American action comedy film directed by J. J. Perry, written by Tyler Tice and Shay Hatten from a story by Tice. The movie follows Bud Jablonski, a blue-collar dad who secretly spends his days hunting and killing vampires while seemingly working as a pool cleaner. One day, during a “cleaning job,” Bud witnesses a man leaving the house he’s working at and decides to investigate further. This leads him to encounter two vampires, an elderly woman and younger man, who happen to live in ...

Directed by Lee Sang-yong, The Roundup (2022) is a South Korean crime action film that centers around Detective Ma Seok-do and Captain Jeon Il-man. Together, they embark on a mission to Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam to extradite Yoo Jong-hoon, a suspect wanted for his involvement in a brutal murder case. Upon arriving in Vietnam, they encounter a group of Koreans living there and begin to piece together the events leading up to Choi Yong-gi’s kidnapping and death at the hands of Kang Hae-sang, a violent killer who has been targeting Koreans and tourists for money. As they delve deeper into their investigation, they ...

RRR (2022) (subtitled onscreen as Roudram Ranam Rudhiram) is an Indian Telugu-language epic period action drama film directed by S. S. Rajamouli, who co-wrote the story with V. Vijayendra Prasad. Set in 1920 during British rule, the tyrannical administrator Scott Buxton and his sadistic wife Catherine abduct Malli, a young girl from the Gond tribe known for her artistic talents. The tribe’s guardian Komaram Bheem is enraged and disguises himself as a Muslim man named Akhtar to rescue her. Meanwhile, the Nizamate of Hyderabad warns Scott’s office of ...

Bullet Train (2022) is a 2022 American action comedy film directed by David Leitch and starring Brad Pitt as an assassin on a high-speed train. Adapted from the novel Maria Beetle (released as Bullet Train in the UK and US), written by Kōtarō Isaka and translated by Sam Malissa, the story takes place in modern day Tokyo. Yuichi Kimura, a grieving father seeking revenge for his son’s death, receives a cryptic message to meet his assailant on the bullet ...

An American independent absurdist comedy-drama film, Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022), was written and directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. The film was produced by Anthony and Joe Russo along with Jonathan Wang. Evelyn Wang, a Chinese-American woman, runs a struggling laundromat with her husband, Waymond. However, tensions in their household are high due to an upcoming IRS audit caused by Evelyn’s ...

A historical action drama, The Last Duel (2021), directed by Ridley Scott and written by Nicole Holofcener, tells the story of French squires Jean de Carrouges and Jacques Le Gris during the Caroline War. Divided into three chapters, each chapter presents the same story from a different perspective. In summary, after serving in the war, Jean and Jacques pledge loyalty to Count Pierre d’Alençon, who has been appointed as Jean’s overlord by King Charles VI. Seeking financial gain, Jean marries Marguerite de Thibouville under the assumption that her father, ...

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) is an American superhero film that tells the story of Shang-Chi, a character from Marvel Comics. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the 25th installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Many years ago, Xu Wenwu discovers the mystical ten rings which grant immortality and godly powers. He then forms the Ten Rings organization and uses its power to conquer kingdoms and overthrow governments throughout history. In 1996, Wenwu sets out to find Ta Lo, a village rumored to be home to mythical creatures. He journeys through a magical forest until he reaches the ...

Batman: Soul of the Dragon (2021) is a thrilling animated superhero flick from Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment. It marks the 41st entry in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies series and is directed by Sam Liu, with executive producer Bruce Timm at the helm. The film boasts an original storyline that departs from its comic book source material. In his younger days, Bruce Wayne journeys to Nanda Parbat, a clandestine monastery situated in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region. There, he encounters O-Sensei, the caretaker of the monastery, as well as five ...

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019) is an American neo-noir action thriller film directed by Chad Stahelski. The story follows John Wick as he navigates through Manhattan, where he finds himself in trouble for the unauthorized assassination of High Table crime lord Santino D’Antonio on Continental grounds. While at the New York Public Library, he acquires a marker medallion and rosary before being injured in a fight with hitman Ernest. Seeking medical treatment from an underworld doctor, John’s excommunicado status becomes active, forcing him to finish the suturing himself before being pursued by a ...

Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny (2018–2019) is an American computer-animated streaming television limited series produced by DreamWorks Animation Television. Taking place after the events of Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016), the show follows Po the panda as he embarks on a new journey alongside four young pandas (Nu Hai, Jing, Bao, and Fan Tong). While exploring a hidden cave in their village, the panda kids unknowingly absorb the chi of four legendary Kung Fu warriors known as the four constellations. Each panda possesses a quality that is the opposite of their corresponding constellation’s prime quality – Blue Dragon, Black Tortoise, White Tiger, and ...

The film known as The Equalizer 2 (2018) is an American vigilante action-thriller directed by Antoine Fuqua. Robert McCall resides in Boston, where he drives for Lyft and helps the less fortunate with his close friend Susan Plummer, his former colleague at DIA. During a trip to Istanbul, Robert aids bookstore owner Grace Braelick in retrieving her kidnapped daughter. Together with Susan, he assists Holocaust survivor Sam Rubinstein in retrieving a painting of his late sister. Upon returning home to find his apartment’s courtyard vandalized, Robert accepts teenager Miles Whittaker’s offer to paint a mural. ...

Steven Caple Jr. directs Creed II (2018), an American sports drama with a screenplay by Juel Taylor and Sylvester Stallone. Adonis Creed, also known as ‘Donnie’, has bounced back after his defeat by ‘Pretty’ Ricky Conlan in 2015, winning six consecutive matches and ultimately reclaiming his beloved 1967 Ford Mustang from Danny ‘Stuntman’ Wheeler. As a renowned champion, Adonis pops the question to his girlfriend Bianca Taylor, who agrees to marry him. While Bianca suggests leaving ...

Cobra Kai (2018–2024) is a continuation of the beloved Karate Kid franchise, following the story of Johnny Lawrence, now in his 50s. After losing to Daniel LaRusso in the 1984 All-Valley Karate Tournament, Johnny’s life has taken a turn. He works as a part-time handyman and lives in Reseda, Los Angeles, far from the opulent lifestyle he had growing up in Encino. Abandoning his son Robby from a previous relationship, Johnny’s luck takes another downward spiral when he loses his job after an argument with a client. However, when he defends teenager Miguel Diaz from bullies using his karate skills, Johnny finds new purpose and decides to reopen the ...

Iron Fist (2017–2018), an American TV show produced by Marvel Television for Netflix, is based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name and created by Scott Buck. Set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it shares continuity with the franchise’s films and was the fourth in a series of Marvel shows on Netflix leading up to the crossover event The Defenders (2017). After being presumed dead for 15 years, Danny Rand returns to New York City. Upon his return, he faces doubts from childhood friends who now run his parents’ company about whether he is truly the rightful heir. Despite this, ...

A South Korean crime action film, The Outlaws (2017), tells the story of a turf war between a local gang in Garibong-dong and the Heuksapa gang from Yanbian. As violence continues to escalate, the police are called in to restore peace. Jang Chen, leader of the Chinese mainland gang Black Dragon, ruthlessly collects money as a loan shark in Seoul’s Chinatown. Backed by his henchmen Wei Sung-Rak and Yang-Tae, Jang Chen sets his sights on taking over Chinatown and eliminating rival gangs Venom Gang, led by Ahn Sung-Tae, and Cobra Gang, led by Jang-I-Soo. As tensions rise and violence erupts, Detective Ma Suk-Do and Captain Jeon Il-man work to maintain order in ...

Jean-Claude Van Johnson (2017) is an American action comedy-drama streaming television series starring and produced by Jean-Claude Van Damme, Ridley Scott, and Amazon Studios. The show follows the retired martial arts and action movie star as he plays himself, but it’s soon revealed that his movie career and personal history are just a facade. In reality, Jean-Claude is a secret agent known as Jean-Claude Van Johnson, with his personal assistant and make-up specialist serving as his covert accomplices. After five ...