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July 16, 2024
 

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Giovanni Fazio

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Giovanni Fazio
Giovanni Fazio has been The Japan Times' resident film crank since 1993. When not at the movies, he is busy recording and playing live with his band Makyo and running the independent electronica label Dakini Records.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 23, 2014
Searching for hidden meaning in a Kubrick classic
I'm old enough — barely — to have seen Stanley Kubrick's horror masterpiece "The Shining" when it opened in the theaters back in 1980. My strongest memory of this tale of writer's block meets cabin-fever insanity is that my girlfriend's drink wound up in my lap the first time the twins appeared....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 23, 2014
'Before Midnight'
Richard Linklater's "Before Sunrise" was the most deliciously romantic film of the 1990s. A young, devilishly handsome Jesse (Ethan Hawke) meets bohemian beauty Celine (Julie Delpy) while both are on a train bumming around Europe; he talks her into spending a day with him in Vienna, and the next 90 minutes...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 23, 2014
'Meanwhile'
If you were into American indie cinema in the 1990s, you were into Hal Hartley, the New York City auteur (Long Island, actually) whose deadpan cool rivaled Jim Jarmusch, but with a more quizzical style of dialogue and impeccable alt-rock soundtracks. Yet after 1997's "Henry Fool," Hartley seemed to drop...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 23, 2014
2 Days in New York
Director: Julie Delpy
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 16, 2014
Why Winding Refn doesn't care if you hate his movie
Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn was a film-school dropout who gained sudden acclaim at the tender age of 24 with his ultraviolent 1996 film "Pusher," which was eventually developed into a trilogy. He reached wider audiences with "Fear X" (starring John Turturro) and British crime flick "Bronson,"...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 16, 2014
'Only God Forgives'
On paper, "Only God Forgives" is a film I should love: Ryan Gosling and Kristin Scott Thomas, both personal faves, star in a surrealist film noir set in the seedy brothel side of Bangkok, a milieu just waiting for some movies to be shot there. Its director is Nicolas Winding Refn, who hit his peak with...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 16, 2014
'Mud'
Indie director Jeff Nichols grew up in Arkansas, and he has milked that state's ambience in his films: feuding brothers in "Shotgun Stories," survivalist paranoia in "Take Shelter" and now life on a Mississippi delta houseboat in "Mud." Nichols aims for that "Stand by Me" vibe of boyhood friends getting...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 16, 2014
'Inside the Fifty Shades: Real Women Confess'
Director: Tatiana Bascope
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 9, 2014
'Escape Plan'
Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks? Well, anyone who's seen a Sylvester Stallone movie lately. Stallone, even as he enters retirement age, is determined to hang onto his action-movie star status, and to his credit, he still comes equipped with biceps capable of busting someone's spine.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 9, 2014
'Tricked'
Crowd-funding a film has been tried before, but crowd-sourcing? That's what director Paul Verhoeven ("Basic Instinct") tried to do with "Tricked," a Dutch film that looks at a philandering businessman, his disgruntled family and his pregnant former mistress on the occasion of his 50th birthday party....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 9, 2014
'Clip'
Director: Maja Milos Language: English
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 2, 2014
'Penthouse North'
"What a curious tea party," thought Alice, as the March Hare poured a torrent of Darjeeling into her saucer. The Mad Hatter stood on his chair and posed a riddle: "When is a remake not a remake?"
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 2, 2014
Our movie highlights of the coming year
Another year, another raft of unmissable movies. Here are the most hotly anticipated releases for JT film critics Mark Schilling, Kaori Shoji and Giovanni Fazio — get them in your diary now.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 2, 2014
'Insidious: Chapter 2'
"Insidious" is what happens when you take the director of one horror-movie franchise — "Saw" helmsman James Wan — and team him up with the producers of another — Jason Blum and Oren Peli of "Paranormal Activity." If that sounds about as promising as curry-mayonnaise pizza, well, it's...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 26, 2013
Giovanni Fazio's 2013 Top 10: films to remember into the next lifetime
This year saw me watching a lot more films than usual, which, if anything, made me appreciate the cream even more. As per our age, there's a lot of "content" out there begging for our attention, but precious little of it that feels like it was made with passion. Here are 10 that, love 'em or hate 'em,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 26, 2013
'Planes'
If it looks like a Pixar, and barks like a Pixar, it must be a Pixar, right? Well, no: "Planes," which looks exactly like "Cars 3" with wings, is actually produced by DisneyToon Studios, working off a concept created by Pixar honcho (and "Cars" director) John Lasseter. "Cars" was certainly not Pixar's...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 26, 2013
'Feu: Crazy Horse Paris'
Frederick Wiseman's documentary "Crazy Horse," looking at the Parisian burlesque cabaret of the same name, was a surprise fave last year, showing the racy stage shows to be surprisingly creative in their use of staging and lighting.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 26, 2013
'Everybody Street'
Director: Cheryl Dunn
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 19, 2013
'Only Lovers Left Alive'
Most people define Jim Jarmusch by the impeccably cool hipster portraits of his early films in the 1980s, such as "Down by Law" or "Mystery Train." But if you think about it, he's really been moving through a series of genre flicks for the past two decades: a Western ("Dead Man"), a gangster movie ("Ghost...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 19, 2013
'Love and Bruises'
Why do we fall for people who are clearly wrong for us? Why does sex blind us to the fatal flaws in a relationship? How can you choose a lover if you don't really know what you want?
Who needs AI when you have Hatsune Miku?
Over the first six months of 2024, a handful of songs using Vocaloid singer Hatsune Miku’s voice have enjoyed widespread attention, underlining a global interest in the character and the technology she represents.
Bloodied Trump survives assassination attempt at political rally
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is surrounded and evacuated by Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. Trump was rushed off stage at the rally after shots rang out.
Shooter came within inches of killing Trump, but left few clues as to why
An aerial view shows the stage where Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump had been standing during an assassination attempt the day before, and the roof of a nearby building where a gunman was shot dead by law enforcement, in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.
Yen’s woes seem too big for even a BOJ hike this month to solve
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
After Trump shooting, U.S. presidential race might take a violent turn
United States Secret Service Counter Snipers stand guard on a rooftop during a campaign rally for U.S. President Donald Trump in Avoca, Pennsylvania, in 2020.
No AC this summer? No problem (for me).
Think air conditioning is a requirement for a Tokyo summer? Think again.
She’s paying ¥1 million to help behind the scenes at the Paris Olympics
Mai Tarumi, who previously volunteered at the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has a travel budget of ¥1 million for her trip to volunteer at the Paris Games.
How to tweak your diet when temperatures spike
Most people think of hydration as a strictly liquid-based concept, but eating foods with high water content is an essential part of making it through a Japanese summer unscathed.

Podcast

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.
Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Longform

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
By Tomoko Otake

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