Zero System “New Brand Of Justice” Music Video from All Aces Media on Vimeo.

Hey Everyone,
Here’s a music video that we did for our good friend (and our graphic designer), Justin Reich’s band Zero System. It features Adam Cody of Glass Casket on vocals and Kyle Odell of Bloodjinn on lead guitar as well as Justin Reich, Trey Harding and Andy Joyce. Justin did all of our amazing posters and pimped out our Dogs Of Chinatown myspace. He’s worked very hard for us and it was nice to finally return the favor. I shot and chopped it and Micah did the lighting and the awesome CG lens flares. Great song! You can check their band out here. Also check out Justin’s awesome design work here.

If your local to Greensboro, NC, take a ride down Ridgeway Drive off Market Street. You will see some of the most beautiful Christmas lights anywhere. Blake and I went over to the Smith’s house and sat down with Jonathan Smith and this is the tale that he told us. It is remarkable how a strand of lights wrapped around chicken wire has brought a community together and is helping food drives for homeless shelters. I hope this message catches on with many communities and spreads the joy to all people.

If you would like to learn more about the Lighted Christmas Balls and even how to make your own for next year check out their blog and leave a comment.

The Lighted Christmas Balls from Andy Coon on Vimeo.

Shameless plug! We want this to air on Current TV, if we get enough green lights it could air on their network. So please stop by the page and give us a green light. Thanks.

DOGS OF CHINATOWN (2008)

Written & Directed by: Micah Moore
Stunt/Fight Choreography: Eric Jacobus & Ray Carbonel
Starring: Eric Jacobus, Huyen Thi & Ray Carbonel

American independent action cinema seems to be going from strength to strength. With the likes of Contour, Broken Path and pretty much anything Isaac Florentine does (Undisputed 2), the scene shows that a little money and a lot of heart and talent can make a small movie big. Dogs of Chinatown can be added to this elite group as it not only delivers top notch action but takes the independent action film to new and successful stylistic heights. Micah Moore’s flick is one part Sin City styling, one part gangster drama and one part full blooded martial arts that all adds up to a striking and entertaining whole.

Contour’s Eric Jacobus stars as Jack, a down on his luck dude who thinking of ending his own life one night, steps into a mob hit and saves the life of a young woman, Jin (Thi). She turns out to be the mistress of a local Chinese kingpin who is impressed with Jack’s nerve and people killing skills. He offers Jack a position in his ‘family’ sending him to train in the arts of martial, war and murder. Adapting to his new lifestyle with vigour, Jack becomes an elite killing machine but cannot stop his growing feelings for Jin. Soon the two are lovers and torn between his loyalty to his new ‘family’ and that of his woman, Jack sets out on a deadly course of action which will see the city’s gangs turning violently against one another and Jack and Jin fighting for their freedom and lives.

Dogs of Chinatown is first and foremost bursting with style and creativity. The often colourful, comic book vibrancy sets the tone from the get go, letting you know this is no run-of-the-mill action flick. Colours, backgrounds and even actors are often bursting with colour with the surroundings often heightened to make them standout. Blue rain, black and white scenes, light reflecting of characters all fuse into a vibrant palette that help to heighten the comic book and ultra violent nature of the film. Moore and his crew take a risky step using this technique but it works wonderfully giving the film a feel all of its own. The film is also violent in nature keeping in with the tone of warring gangsters meaning blood is spilt, there is a fair bit of nudity and you really feel it when characters are killed. Mercifully, there is a sense of humour, proceedings never taking themselves too seriously. Most of the comic relief comes from Jack’s trainer, Wei (Brian Lee) who, often drunk, has some great one liners especially when it comes to picking up women.

The cast are universally good, the leads really carrying the picture. Jacobus has proved with Contour he can cut it as a leading man, hitting comedy and action beats in equal measure, but gets the chance to act serious here. He pulls it off, never going too intense but showing he can act in between kicking people’s asses. His chemistry with Huyen Thi works well, the two making a believable couple. There is also fine support from Rudy Chu as the Chinese mob boss and Brian Lee as Jack’s trainer, who manages to switch from drunken comedy clown to kick ass fighter with ease. Ray Carbonel, another alumnus from Contour, also gets the chance to cut loose in the acting department as a seriously nasty character called The General. Good to see him getting more lines this time.

But with the cool styling and violent tone, does the action still deliver? It does, in a series of brutal one-on-one fights and several scenes of hard hitting gunplay. Choreographed by Jacobus and Carbonel (The Stunt People) the action is fluid, fast and focused. Shot wide, we get to see the moves, the hits and the takedowns with Jacobus and Carbonel going toe-to-toe in one fantastic scene. The fights aren’t as big and as intricate as say, Contour, but fit in with the tone of the film, an early fight in a restaurant setting the brutal nature of the fights. The only (minor) complaint is, there could have been just a few more but otherwise Dogs of Chinatown delivers great western styled, Hong Kong influenced action.

Dogs of Chinatown may not be an action film for everyone as its tone and style are quite different from most action films. But this is also to its benefit as it sets itself apart from the crowd successfully with its unique take on an old story all the while delivering blistering fights and action. Another success for The Stunt People and a great first feature for Moore and his crew. Unique, stylish and action soaked, Dogs of Chinatown proves that the right people with the right mindset can create something great when the passion and determination is there. If you are disappointed at all with recent efforts from the big budget Hollywood machine then check out Dogs of Chinatown. Let’s hope it gets an official release soon.

The Impact Magazine article was written by Andrew Skeates who also runs the Cool Target blog that reviews action films (new and old). You can check that out here.

Impact Magazine is one of the biggest and best magazines in the world that cover action films. You can visit their site here.

Hey Everyone,
Here’s a Christmas present for those eagerly awaiting our upcoming feature film , Beat Down Boogie. We recently had Eric Jacobus of The Stunt People and Lazy Brown Productions (Emmanuel Manzares & Shawn Bernal) come to North Carolina to shoot some practice footage for this upcoming film. We also incorporated a lot of our very talented local group of actors including Dogs Of Chinatown alumni, Brian Lee and Matthew Sumner. It was a chance to also experiment with incorporating motion graphics into the film ala Snatch and RocknRolla. Beautiful ladies, martial arts, lots of action, hip-hop and a lot of Beat Downs, enjoy the video.
Blake, Micah and Andy

P.S. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

Beat Down Boogie Practice Tape from All Aces Media on Vimeo.

BEAT DOWN BOOGIE pre-production diary 1 from All Aces Media on Vimeo.

The next feature from Dogs Of Chinatown director, Micah Moore. This project will again feature the talent of cult superstar martial artists, The Stunt People. Along for the ride will be our good friends, Lazy Brown Productions out of Chicago as well as many other talented martial artists, stunt men and women and a few name actors. The goal is to bring back the American martial arts film on a competitive level with current Hong Kong and Thai films. For Micah and myself, this will be our chance to make a Jackie Chan style film. If it’s not totally obvious, both of us are heavily influenced by Jackie’s films like Rumble In The Bronx, Wheels On Meals, Project A, Miracles, Drunken Master 2 and the list goes on and on. I’m sure we’ll put plenty of pressure on ourselves to live up to those films but with the Stunt People’s help, we’ll be up to the task. Check out the Beat Down Boogie Myspace here.

Untitled Teaser from Blake Faucette from All Aces Media on Vimeo.

This started as test footage that we modified to be an early teaser. Still doesn’t reflect all the elements in the script so we may shoot a few additional things to update this. Trailer features Ray Wood, Matthew Sumner, Brian Lee, Anthony Robinson, Eric Lanier and several more of our regular players.

This is a marriage that will only get better with time. Then the divorce soon after.

What is The Dotmatrix Project?

the dotmatrix project is a collective of musicians, artists, filmmakers, photographers, web geeks and sound guys who dig live music. So much so that we’ve decided to document bands local to Greensboro, NC and from across the state, once a month until we run out of talent.

Each show features at least two local acts, and the rotating media team of filmmakers, photographers and sound engineers who create two live albums, music videos and hordes of still photos.

This is our dotmatrix project video with Project Tritium playing Affectus Incognitus

Project Tritium: Affectus Incognitus from All Aces Media on Vimeo.

The Dotmatrix Project is always looking for talented music acts, photographers and filmmakers for future shows. Hit us up if your interested and we’ll get you on board this cool ride.

Hey everyone,
Sorry for the lack of updates but Micah and myself have been busy working with Rick on the audio and knocking out other deliverables for the film. Should be headed back to Raleigh this weekend to put the finishing touches on the audio mix and then we can see about setting up a screening for the cast and crew. Until then, here’s the new poster! Justin Reich took a rough sketch from me and turned it into another great looking poster. He’s the man! Micah also just finished up a new trailer and it smokes. Tons of action! He also used another piece of Chris Hurn’s score for the film and I love it. Even if it wasn’t our film then this would totally be something that I’d have to buy. The post side of working on the film hasn’t been a lot of fun and Micah and myself have felt like hermits kind of locked away in our little editing rooms. It’ll be nice to get this done and get out and see all our friends again. We are very close to wrapping this thing up and look forward to catching up with everyone at the screening. See ya soon, Blake

DOGS of CHINATOWN new trailer from All Aces Media on Vimeo.

Dogs Of Chinatown has just been signed to an international representation deal with Fantastic Films International. We’d like to thank our friends at Crimson Wolf Productions for bringing us to FFI and for the never ending support and willingness to share their knowledge and help guide a couple of newcomers like Micah Moore and myself through the business side of filmmaking. We look forward to a very promising future with our new friends Roxane Barbat and Fred deWysocki III over at Fantastic Films. They are very excited about our trailer and the future of our film and have the experience in the international marketplace to do well with Dogs Of Chinatown. Anyone interested in acquiring rights for Dogs Of Chinatown can contact them at Cannes - Marche Du Film through May 22, 2008:

CARLTON INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL
SUITE #134
58, LA CROISETTE, F-06400, CANNES, FRANCE
PHONE # 33-4-9306-4006
MOBILE #310.560.9577

Here’s our new trailer which they’ll be showing at Cannes:

Dogs of Chinatown Opera Trailer from All Aces Media on Vimeo.

Beyond that Fantastic Films International will be exclusively representing all sales for Dogs Of Chinatown which includes attending: the European Film Market in Berlin and the American Film Market (AFM). They can also be reached at the following::

Phone #: (323) 661-7088
Fax #: (323) 661-718
Email: info@ffimail.com (Fred deWysocki)

Be sure to check out the Fantastic Films website here.

Thanks to everyone for their continued support and interest in Dogs Of Chinatown and look forward to more great things from all of us here at All Aces Media.

Blake Faucette