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November 23, 2024
 

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Kaori Shoji
Kaori Shoji writes about movies and movie-makers for the Film Page, plus takes a turn at the Bilingual Column. Biggest mistake of her career: taking the very dignified Nagisa Oshima to McDonald's for an iced coffee.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 27, 2014
Lucy
"Lucy" is a big movie with a narrow mind; it speaks of all that used to work in a Luc Besson film and doesn't anymore because we're no longer in 1989. Besson ignores that, but he's kept up with current times in other ways. Witness how "Lucy" borrows liberally from recent movies such as "The Dark Knight...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 27, 2014
Riddick (Riddick: Galaxy Battle)
Director: David TwohyLanguage: English
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 20, 2014
The Great Beauty
'The Great Beauty" recalls two other films set in Rome: "La Dolce Vita" and "Roman Holiday." The former takes huge bites out of the city's decadence and debauchery in much the same way as "The Great Beauty." The latter takes a mere lick at the pleasures proffered by Rome and declares satisfaction. The...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 20, 2014
Sacro GRA
"Sacro GRA" takes the all-roads-lead-to-Rome adage one step further by telling us that one of those roads is actually sacred — the 65-odd-km GRA (Grande Raccordo Anulare). It's Italy's most expensive highway, circling Rome in one big loop. Documentarian Gianfranco Rosi took his camera to the GRA (seen...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 20, 2014
Lee Daniels' The Butler (originally released as "The Butler)
Director: Lee DanielsLanguage: English
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 13, 2014
Tavarataivas (365 Nichi no Simple Life)
Perhaps you are aware of the tiny house movement, where people move into a teensy-tiny house with the barest of amenities, or Project 333, where people choose to dress with only 33 items for three months or longer. Both have gained significant interest over the last few years as more people in the so...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 13, 2014
Bajari (Gypsy Flamenco)
As the world becomes more digitized, human beings begin to seem much less physical. Sometimes it feels as though people have no clue what to do with their bodies anymore. But in Barcelona's Gypsy community, the flame of Flamenco burns as brightly as it did in the 18th century, when dancers and singers...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 13, 2014
Almost Human
Language: English
Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 13, 2014
Robin Williams fondly remembered by Japan's film industry
It was an open secret among Japanese film distribution companies that Robin Williams, who died at his California home on Monday in an apparent suicide, was a "yobitai sutaa" ("a want-to-invite star").
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 11, 2014
Somewhere, a grandfather is rolling in his grave
Summertime in Japan is tinged with sadness, not just because we have to drag ourselves through this kirokutekina mōsho (記録的な猛暑, record-breaking heat), but because we must deal with the annual arrival of the "shūsenkinenbi (終戦記念日, the anniversary of the end of the Pacific War),"...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 6, 2014
Danchi No Yume (Dreams of the Projects)
There is such a thing as a Japanese dream, and in many ways it's a lot like the American dream. Japanese hip-hop artist Anarchy's dream has to do with escape, money and, ultimately, getting to a place where he can perform in a music video with bikini-clad babes.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 6, 2014
Dabba
The Japanese may feel like they have perfected bentō (lunchbox) culture, but India has a formidable lunchbox culture of its own, in the form of the dabba. Some 6 million of these meals are delivered each day to offices in Mumbai by dabbawallahs, and "Dabba" (released internationally as "The Lunchbox")...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 6, 2014
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Director: Marc WebbLanguage: English
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 30, 2014
Hope (So-won/Negai)
It was every parent's worst nightmare: In South Korea in 2008, an 8-year-old girl was abducted and violently raped on her way to school. The perpetrator was caught and the girl identified her attacker, but she still had to appear at a public trial because the police couldn't build a solid case against...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 30, 2014
Ida
Pawel Pawlikowski has a solid reputation in Europe — especially Britain, for award-winners such as "Summer of Love" (2004) and "Last Resort" (2000). But after spending his entire film career away from home, Pawlikowski returned to his native Poland to try something different. "Ida" is the result: The...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 30, 2014
Rush (Rush: Pride to Yujo)
Director: Ron HowardLanguage: English
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 23, 2014
The Scottish song heard around the world
"Sunshine on Leith" was a much-loved stage musical, featuring the songs of Scottish band The Proclaimers, that ran from 2007 to 2013. But when Dexter Fletcher signed on to direct the film adaptation of the musical, he had never seen it.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 23, 2014
Sunshine on Leith
Who wouldn't want a man that walks 500 miles (and 500 more) just to be with you? In 1988 the Scottish band The Proclaimers released their album "Sunshine on Leith" featuring the song "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)," which had all the buoyant freshness of a young June bride clutching a rose bouquet. The Proclaimers...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 23, 2014
Attila Marcel
French animation director Sylvain Chomet debuted in 2003 with "The Triplets of Belleville," a five-course meal of a film, rich with a surreal visual style and Gallic wit, and followed it up with "The Illusionist," a gorgeous adaptation of a Jacques Tati film. Now Chomet brings us the whimsical "Attila...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 23, 2014
Frozen (Ana to Yuki no Jo)
Directors: Chris Buck, Jennifer LeeLanguage: English, Icelandic
Tokyo Metro’s overseas efforts begin in earnest with London deal
Tokyo Metro will soon have a role in the running of London's Elizabeth Line, a major train route serving the U.K.’s capital city and environs.
Man charged with murder allegedly made victim date other men for money
A car carrying suspect Ryotaro Masuda, who was indicted for allegedly beating his 25-year-old girlfriend to death, leaves the Shibuya Police Station in Tokyo on Thursday.
Russia fired experimental ballistic missile at Ukraine, Putin says
Ukrainian firefighters work on a spot following an airstrike in Dnipro on Thursday.
Ex-yokozuna Kitanofuji dies at 82
Yokozuna Kitanofuji enters the ring during the May 1970 grand sumo tournament in Tokyo.
The slow-burn success of ‘A Samurai in Time’
A 19th-century warrior gets struck by lightning and wakes to find himself in 21st-century Kyoto in Junichi Yasuda’s surprise hit “A Samurai in Time.”
Shohei Ohtani wins National League MVP award
Shohei Ohtani celebrates after hitting a three-run home run against the Padres during the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles last month.
The slow-burn success of ‘A Samurai in Time’
A 19th-century warrior gets struck by lightning and wakes to find himself in 21st-century Kyoto in Junichi Yasuda’s surprise hit “A Samurai in Time.”
Around a quarter of Japan married couples in their 20s met through dating apps
A survey released by an organization promoting “Good Couples Day” shows that 24% of couples in their 20s met their marriage partner through a dating app.
'Tokyo Swindlers': Get deep into the minds of real estate con artists
In Ko Shinjo's "Tokyo Swindlers," a group of con artists manipulates real estate giants into falsified deals within the highly competitive, quick market.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

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mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world
mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world

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