KFMG Podcast S06 Episode 66: Tzi Ma

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KFMG Podcast S06 Episode 66: Tzi Ma

“Nowadays if you write something that’s even remotely questionable, then it’s just a comment on you, because you can’t get away with this stuff anymore.”

Born in Hong Kong and raised in New York, Tzi Ma is a genre-spanning actor who has dedicated his career to documenting the Asian American experience. With every acting decision – whether it be on stage, screen or television – he has sought to portray fully rounded characters, working in an industry where accurate representation has not always been high on the agenda. He has turned down roles he has considered to be stereotypical, and instead, …

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Profile: Tzi Ma

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Profile: Tzi Ma

Date of birth: 10 June, 1962 (Hong Kong)

Occupation: Actor

Biography: Tzi Ma (pronounced ‘Tai Mah’) is a prolific actor working across stage, screen and television. He is a familiar face in mainstream Hollywood productions as well as independent cinema, where he has helped to champion and promote Asian American filmmakers and fight for greater representation in Hollywood.

Hong Kong-born Ma is the youngest of seven children. In the late 1960s – when Ma was five years old – the family moved to the USA following political unrest in Hong Kong. Ma was brought up in New York where his family ran an …

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Ip Man: Kung Fu Master (2019)

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Ip Man: Kung Fu Master (2019)

This straight-to-digital release plays like a ‘greatest hits’ of all your favourite Ip Man tropes from the last decade. There’s the neo-noir aesthetics and rain-drenched, slow motion battle scenes from The Grandmaster; there’s a contrived bout in a boxing ring pitting Ip Man’s Chinese kung fu against a Japanese military karate fighter, like Wilson Yip’s first Ip Man film; there’s even an excursion into superhero territory in which Ip Man dons a black mask to fight crime in scenes lifted from an entirely separate Donnie Yen movie, Legend of the Fist. So, zero marks for originality, but the film offers enough …

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Rapid Fire (1992)

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Rapid Fire (1992)

An exciting action vehicle for Brandon Lee, son of Bruce Lee, who is promoted to leading man status after his role as Dolph Lundgren‘s sidekick in Showdown in Little Tokyo. Lee shows great poise and presence as a lithe kung fu fighter, although he clearly has more substantial chops as an actor, bringing an engaged, boyish masculinity to the somewhat two-dimensional role of Jake Lo, an arty biker dude whose parents were killed during the Tiananmen Square protests. Back in the USA, Jake witnesses a gangland shooting by the Sicilian mafioso, Serrano (Nick Mancuso, delightfully devilish), a red-wine-swilling cliched crook …

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Crazy Samurai Musashi (2020)

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Crazy Samurai Musashi (2020)

Less of a film and more a mad experiment, this uses one of Miyamoto Musashi’s most famous legends as inspiration to create a relentless, almost hypnotic 77-minute one-take fight scene. The wonderful enigmatic Versus star Tak Sakaguchi steps up to play Musashi in this insane endeavour, and we follow him every intimate step of the way as he single-handedly slices through 400 (who’s counting?) clan-members and mercenaries. Director Yuji Shimomura (Re:Born) will occasionally provide respite from the monotonous killing spree by focusing in on Tak’s face, and occasionally breaking away to allow his star to stop for a drink of …

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Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)

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Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)

With a majority Asian cast and crew and boasting Disney’s first Southeast Asian princess, this magical fantasy action film carries a sense of poignancy beyond the studio’s usual animated fare. It is also vibrantly animated, meticulously researched, and powered by an entirely wholesome message of unity and togetherness in troubling times. ‘Southeast Asia’ is a particularly broad geographic term, encompassing around 10 separate countries each with their own language, culture and identity. Similarly to how Marvel’s Wakanda represents a vision of an African utopia unspoilt by colonialism, this conjures up the mythical, magical backdrop of ‘Kumandra’ which seems to be …

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Russian Raid (2020)

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Russian Raid (2020)

As the conspicuous title would suggest, this is advertised as a Russian version of The Raid, drawing unfortunate comparisons to what is essentially a modern martial arts masterpiece. In the film’s defence, the title is only really relevant in a small number of details; its largely single-set location, heist premise and succession of hand-to-hand combat scenes. It never once comes close to recreating The Raid‘s sense of anxiety, creativity, or heart-pounding energy. It follows Nikita (played by stunt performer Ivan Kotik), a zen-like lone-wolf military man who keeps fit by Cossack dancing and pounding log cabins with his bare hands. …

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36 Deadly Styles (1979)

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36 Deadly Styles (1979)

Hwang Jang-lee reprises his evil Silver Fox role and Bolo Yeung wears dreadlocks in this ham-fisted phooey from cult master Joseph Kuo. The story focuses on the Ming Chu clan who will stop at nothing to retrieve a highly coveted kung fu manual for the ’36 styles’. This includes pillaging, terrorising and picking on young temple recruits, like Cheung Lik and his Buddhist uncle, Wong Biu-chan. Jeanie Chang and her burly father, Fan Mei-sheng, also want a piece of the action, so they leave their bean curd business in the village to do battle. Max Lee’s shapes are sublime in …

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The Swordsman (2020)

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The Swordsman (2020)

Period action film from South Korea set during the tumultuous transition between the Ming and Qing dynasties – the backdrop for many, many kung fu films – which is both a broiling political revenge drama and a story about a father’s devotion to his child. It’s a credit to first-time writer-director Choi Jae-hoon that both themes fit so seamlessly and effectively together. Korean heartthrob Jang Hyuk is superb as the titular swordsman, Tae-yul; devout protector of the reigning Joseon dynasty monarch until a coup sees the king forced into exile. Tae-yul flees to the misty hills – hiding from the secular …

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Once Upon a Time in China and America (1997)

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Once Upon a Time in China and America (1997)

With Jet Li and Tsui Hark back behind the franchise, you would be right to expect more from this lukewarm offering. Filmed in the USA, there is a clear Hollywood incentive behind the production, and under Sammo Hung‘s direction, the ride is a lot quicker and quirkier than the original trilogy. It’s a film of two halves: the first section sees an amnesiac Wong Fei-hung being adopted by a tribe of Native Americans; the second half is a far more nationalistic tale about Wong’s newly created American-based Po Chi Lam being threatened by bandits. Highlights include a knockabout with Hung …

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