James Hong; R.I.P.D.

 

"A recently slain cop joins a team of undead police officers working for the Rest in Peace Department and tries to find the man who murdered him."

 

A film featuring an old school superstar and a younger rising actor fail to do anything that good in this film. Its poorly directed, edited, written and has poor special effects. What it does well is the comedy aspect. Though at times Jeff Bridge's voice was annoying and at times hard to understand. Its a movie you should skip at all costs.

 

 

James Hong has a very small role as the avatar for Ryan Reynolds star. Though I don't think he would complain much as most of his appearances are with a "hot" woman. He does some good things but he is such a small figure you might actually forget he is in the movie. It would have been cool to see him as the head of ripd or some kind of other role.

 

 

James Hong: Big Trouble in Little China

"Kurt Russell plays truck driver Jack Burton, who helps his friend Wang Chi (Dennis Dun) rescue Wang's green-eyed fiancee (Suzee Pai) from bandits in San Francisco's Chinatown. They go into the mysterious underworld beneath Chinatown, where they face an ancient sorcerer named David Lo Pan (James Hong)." - wiki

Not the best film I have ever seen nor should it really be considered "good". Its bizarre that it should be mostly about rescuing Wang Chi's fiancée but It felt like Dennis Dun didn't get a bigger role as it is Kurt Russell who steals the spotlight. The script is very bad, I wish all of the actors could have been made more important rather than just background people typical for an American movie with Asian culture heavily present. Though I don't think this was John Carpenter's idea for this movie but at least he made a movie with Asian actors playing Asians in a film heavily influenced by Asian films. He gave a lot of people a chance to work



David Lo Pan (James Hong) was a nice villain, he was entertaining to watch (to me he was the most entertaining thing about this film). James Hong did a good job, actually this might be the first movie that I have seen him have a lot of screen time. It was nice to see someone different even if I couldn't tell who he was. Villains that wear make up have a long history of success or cult like status like Beetlejuice, Heath Ledger's Joker, etc. So why does James Hong get forgotten in the mix? I think its mainly due to the poor special effects in the film. Its hard to take a villain serious if the effects are a complete waste. Sadly to say this villain is one most of us have forgotten but shouldn't we at least review James Hong's performance?

James Hong

Now this is a man that I have seen a ton of times but never knew his name until now it's James Hong

 

 

James Hong was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, his father emigrated from Hong Kong and owned a restaurant. He would go to Hong Kong but would come back to the states when he was 10. James intended to study Civil Engineering but fell in love with acting and chose to train with Jeff Corey. He was a road engineer for a few years, acting on days off before quitting to become a full time actor. No wonder I have seen him a lot, he has 399 on camera appearances.

 

He started out dubbing soundtracks of Asian films like Godzilla, The King of Monsters. Afterwards he did a lot of stereotypical Asian roles in television like Charlie Chan's New Adventures. He is also one of the founders of the East West Players theater group which was founded in 1965. His career didn't really pick up until he made starred in the 1986 film Big Trouble In Little China.

 

His career portfolio lists tons of bit parts and supporting roles play stereotypical Asian roles. Even though he has appeared in famous movies and shows he is not that famous. He is yet another face that should be known due to his dedication to the wonderful world of film.

 

 

Selected Television Appearances

 

The New Adventures of Charlie Chan

The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin

Peter Gunn

Bonanza

Hong Kong

The Lloyd Bridges Show

Ensign O'Toole

The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

The Bill Cosby Show

The Bob Newhart Show

Hawaii Five-o

Kung Fu

Dynasty

 

 

Selected Film Appearances

 

Blade Runner

Big Trouble in Little China

The Golden Child

China Girl

Wayne's World 2

Mulan

Balls of Fury

Kung-Fu Panda

The Day the Earth Stood Still

 

 

 

 



Mako: Avatar the Last Airbender

 

A twelve year old boy named Aang is unfrozen by two children from the water tribe, they discover this twelve year old is the Avatar. The master of all the elements and the person that can change the world forever but he'll need a lot of help.

 

 

Mako happened to voice the character of Uncle Iroh, the wise knowing man who appears calm and lazy. I actually watched this series many years ago and I never for a million years thought that a man named Mako actually voiced this character. I was blown away that the same man that did Aku from Samurai Jack did Uncle Iroh. This showed me that Mako had some very talented acting skills that I hadn't seen from him in his live action performances. Is that due to the fact you don't see the person who is providing the voice? Whatever it is critics all say that Mako did a wonderful job with this character. Sadly Mako died before he could close the book on this character and was replaced by Greg Baldwin.

 

But Mako will live forever in the minds of his fans as his image and voice is ingrained in the history of movies and Television. 

Mako: Seven Years in Tibet

An autobiographical film about an Austrian man named Heinrich Harrer who joins an expedition to Nanga Parbat in the Himalayas. After being forced to turn back, the group is confronted by British soldiers who declare them prisoners of war due to Germany and England declaring war on each other. They are taken to India but Heinrich Harrer and one other choose to go to Tibet. Once there they managed to sneak into the most holy place in Tibet Lhasa where the Dalai Lama lives. They are able to find food and shelter after a kind Tibetian man by the name of Kungo Tsarong (mako).

Heinrich becomes one of the mentors of the 14th Dalai Lama, teaching him the world of the west.


I couldn't tell it was Mako at first until I heard his voice and instantly I smiled. Mako proved to me that he is a versatile actor that if given better roles could have been a bigger influence in the world of film. Sadly even though he plays an important character in modern Tibetan history, Mako is only seen a few times. Even though this was a biography film telling of Heinrich Harrer's time in Tibet, I felt like they should have added more depth to Mako's character. If you really want to see Mako act then don't watch this movie as he really doesn't get that much of a chance to.

MAKO rest in peace

Sadly I will have to end reviewing Mako's work as I haven't seen much of it. From his narration work on the shows Dexter's Laboratory and The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy to his animation roles in Samurai Jack, Avatar The Last Airbender, Duck Dodgers and What's New Scooby Doo to his live actions role in Conan the Barbarian, The Sand Pebbles, Seven Years in Tibet, Pearl Harbor, Memoirs of a Geisha, and many role. Lets make sure that this screen legend doesn't fade away from our memories.



Mako: Samurai Jack

 

Samurai Jack a tale of a samurai from feudal Japan whose empire is destroyed by the dark creature known as Aku. He manages to escape through time and now travels in order to defeat his greatest enemy.

Samurai Jack was created by Genndy Tartakovsky and aired on Cartoon Network. Jack was voiced by Phil LaMarr while Aku was voiced by Mako.

 

 

Aku is a the main antagonist on the show as you can see but by no means is he a simple villain. His whole character is very interesting to watch and serves as the direct opposite of Jack. His deep voice helps with making this character excellent, this voice belongs to Mako. Mako was wonderful, he was able to project his voice well and even could act out his character. Without Aku there would be no Samurai Jack, so lets thank him for making Cartoon network a hit show and making our viewing habits a bit better.

There would be no other actor that I could envision for this role, Mako did a wonderful job and leaves us with an everlasting character known as Aku.