Mandrill (2009)

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Mandrill (2009)

Chilean writer, director and editor Ernesto Díaz Espinoza and martial arts star Marko Zaror spoof James Bond movies for their third Spanish language indie actioner. The references are well-worn, with composer Rocco doing good work in adapting the John Barry style, and Zaror sprucing up nicely to play smooth-talking, ass-kicking super spy Antonia Espinoza, aka Mandrill. He’s the kind of guy who seduces a woman in a swimming pool before blowing someone’s brains out. As a kid, he witnesses the death of his mother and father at the hands of a drug baron known as ‘Cyclops’, subsequently crafting his Lothario …

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Kiltro (2006)

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Kiltro (2006)

A zany action indie from Chile designed as a vehicle for martial artist Marko Zaror, who also co-produces. As well as making space for Zaror to show off his moves – not to mention his well-toned body – writer-director Ernesto Díaz Espinoza also simultaneously conjures up a dorky teen romance, a violent revenge saga by way of Sergio Leone, and a Highlander-esque mystery about a strange secret society, the sum of which adds up to barmy, esoteric fun. Luckily, Ernesto also laces his film with gags which helps to undercut some of the more earnest moments. Zaror plays fighting-mad street …

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Profile: Marko Zaror

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Profile: Marko Zaror

Date of birth: 10 June, 1978 (Santiago, Chile)

Full name: Marko Zaror Aguad

Nickname: The Latin Dragon

Occupation: Actor, fight choreographer, producer.

Style: Taekwondo, kickboxing, MMA, Judo, Aikido, Shotokan Karate

Biography: Marko Zaror Aguad was born in Santiago, Chile. His Peruvian mother, Gina Aguad, was the first woman in Chile to receive a karate black belt. Inspired by Bruce Lee, he started training in martial arts from the age of six. His main martial art styles are taekwondo, kickboxing, and kung fu. He also has black belts in Judo and Aikido, and a green belt in Shotokan Karate. He has also studied boxing, acrobatics, and wrestling. …

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KFMG Podcast S07 Episode 94: Ric Meyers

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KFMG Podcast S07 Episode 94: Ric Meyers

“I practice my style, which is called ‘Ric Fu’, and the subtitle is, ‘don’t hurt me’.”

It has been over a decade since we last spoke in-depth to the author and kung fu movie expert, Ric Meyers – the man responsible for introducing much of America to the classics of martial arts cinema over a writing career spanning five decades. His books – including 1985’s ‘Martial Arts Movies: From Bruce Lee to the Ninjas’, 1995’s ‘The Encyclopedia of Martial Arts Movies’, 2001’s ‘Great Martial Arts Movies: From Bruce Lee to Jackie Chan and More’, and 2011’s ‘Films of Fury’ project, which …

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Profile: Vincent Lyn

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Profile: Vincent Lyn

Date of birth: 6 June, 1959 (British Royal Air Force Base, Aden, Yemen)

Full name: Vincent Raymond Percival Lyn

Chinese name: Yong Sheng (‘forever winning’)

Occupation: Musician, humanitarian, philanthropist, actor, martial arts instructor.

Style: Ling Gar Kung Fu (family style), Tai Chi, kickboxing.

Biography: Vincent Lyn is an accomplished martial artist, actor, author, pianist, and humanitarian. He was born in Aden, Yemen, to a Chinese father and a British mother. His mother was a classical pianist, and his father was an aircraft engineer stationed in Yemen with the British Royal Air Force. Because of his father’s profession, Vincent’s family relocated a lot, and by the age …

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KFMG Podcast S07 Episode 93: Vincent Lyn

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KFMG Podcast S07 Episode 93: Vincent Lyn

“You’re having to relearn martial arts for film. It’s completely different… and there’s no instruction manual. You’re learning as you go.”

Vincent Lyn‘s short career in Hong Kong action movies may only span a few years, but his good looks, martial arts abilities and acting skills saw him work with some of the biggest names in the industry, operating at the height of their powers. The list includes Donnie Yen, Yuen Woo-ping, Corey Yuen, Cynthia Rothrock, Cynthia Khan, Simon Yam, and Jackie Chan. He admits he had no idea that the films he was making would go on to become …

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John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

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John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

With the fourth film in the escalating, epic and extraordinary John Wick saga, director Chad Stahelski proves that bigger, sometimes, is better. For example, during the film’s final act, he turns central Paris into his own playground, crashing cars around the Arc de Triomphe, firing guns along its floodlit streets, and throwing stunt performers down the steps of the Sacré-Cœur in a breathless and hilarious sequence – probably the best in a movie full of exquisite action set-pieces (although the impressive long-take shootout inside a Parisian chateaux is also a thing of astonishing, violent beauty). The film then culminates in …

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KFMG Podcast S07 Episode 92: Vi-Dan Tran / Lorenz Hideyoshi

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KFMG Podcast S07 Episode 92: Vi-Dan Tran / Lorenz Hideyoshi

“I won’t give up producing cool shit and fan films, because it’s for the community. If we can inspire young filmmakers with our craft, that’s the best prize.” Vi-Dan Tran

Over the last decade, Germany has become a hotbed of aspiring young martial arts talent who have seen their careers grow from DIY short films on YouTube to massive Hollywood productions. Cologne-born Vi-Dan Tran is a wushu practitioner and Hong Kong movie fan. His passions led to a career in stunts and eventually membership of the hallowed Jackie Chan Stunt Team, working with the man himself on movies like The Foreigner (2016) …

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Plan B (2016)

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Plan B (2016)

An excellent German martial arts comedy which is both an engaging original concept and a heart-on-the-sleeve tribute to 1980s Hong Kong action cinema, with references to John Woo and Jackie Chan as well as western touch-points, mostly Quentin Tarantino, Guy Ritchie and Edgar Wright. Given its neon aesthetic, synthesiser score, ensemble cast, and its meshing of a contemporary crime story with broad knockabout comedy, it often feels – possibly deliberately so – like a missing ‘Three Dragons’ movie, with comedic beats that land just as accurately as the finely tuned fight scenes. Given that the film is led by three …

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The Blonde Fury (1989)

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The Blonde Fury (1989)

The only Hong Kong movie to star a westerner sees Scranton’s very own Cynthia Rothrock tear up the screen in her ass-kicking prime, laying waste to gweilo fighters like Jeff Falcon and Vincent Lyn at the height of the genre’s ‘golden age’. The film is also famous for being a complete mess; a cobbled-together mix of different edits which was restructured and embellished following news of Rothrock’s ascent in Hollywood. With Cynthia scheduled to work with Sylvester Stallone and William Friedkin on a project which, unfortunately, never materialised, the original cut (directed by Sammo stunt team stalwart and Cynthia’s boyfriend, Mang Hoi) …

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