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July 17, 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
Jun 12, 2014
'Child's Pose'
In "King Lear," Shakespeare wrote that a thankless child is sharper than a serpent's tooth. In that vein, Cornelia (Luminita Gheorghiu) feels the pain of the serpent's bite throughout"Child's Pose," a film by Romanian director Calin Peter Netzer.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 12, 2014
'The Host'
At the heart of this sci-fi thriller is a long, probing look at the relationship between a girl and ... herself. "The Host" combines real romance with a philosophical approach to the familiar premise of Earth being invaded by aliens. Most of the time, it works. Other times, the hormonal confusion and...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 12, 2014
'Last Passenger (Original title: Panic Train)'
Director: Omid Nooshin
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 6, 2014
The unspoken disease that can destroy families
Of the 17,500 cases of uterine cancer reported yearly in Japan, nearly half are cervical cancer, usually triggered by a virus spread by sexual intercourse. Because of this, sufferers often conceal the fact from friends and families and continue working at their jobs as if nothing is wrong — until...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 5, 2014
The pleasures of driving like an absolute maniac
"Need for Speed" is an ode to the automobile and not the green, hybrid kind either. The vehicles in this movie are sleek, sexy, gas-guzzling, carbon-spewing planet-destroyers, and director Scott Waugh revels in shooting them from every conceivable angle (plus a few you never even thought possible). In...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 5, 2014
'Balancing Act'
It's a sad, anxious world when a hard-working dad has no choice but to sleep in his car and eat at a soup kitchen. Such is the fate of 40-year-old Giulio (Valerio Mastandrea), whose act of infidelity (sex with a colleague in the archives room of the Rome city office where he works) causes a deep, irreparable...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 5, 2014
'Hummingbird'
What would British action movies be without Jason Statham? As quiet as a wake for an old man with no friends. Thankfully, Statham is still at the top of his game, even if his new movie, "Hummingbird," is a bit of a muddle.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 5, 2014
'Ender's Game'
Director: Gavin Hood
Japan Times
CULTURE
May 31, 2014
Essential summer festivals 2014
A summer without festivals simply wouldn’t be a proper summer in Japan, so now that the humidity has returned, it’s time to slop on an extra layer of sunscreen and line up some outdoor activities.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 28, 2014
'Adore'
Sometimes the Japanese title for a foreign film manages to grasp the very essence of the story and display it with the deft, loving care of a jeweler placing a necklace in a glass case. The Japanese title for "Adore" (previously known as "Two Mothers") is "Utsukushi e no Hokai," which roughly translates...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 28, 2014
'One Minute More'
Taiwan has a thriving movie industry that often tips its hat to Japanese culture. For Japanese viewers, the references to AKB48, Tokyo and Japanese food make us feel that much closer to Taiwanese cinema. And now there’s “One Minute More,” based on “Ippunkan Dake,” a best-selling novel by...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 28, 2014
'Jo' (Keiji jo Pari Hanzaisosahan)
Director: Rene Balcer
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 22, 2014
'Sake Bomb'
On the one hand, I'm prepared to love this movie. Junya Sakino, director of "Sake Bomb," gets it, as they say. He is one of a growing breed of Japanese filmmakers who studied in the U.S. and are now working there. "Sake Bomb" — a film about a nice, unassuming Japanese guy who travels to America...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 22, 2014
'The Bay'
Found footage becomes a different animal under the direction of a major-league director like Barry Levinson ("Rain Man" and "Diner"). "The Bay" is plenty scary but this isn't your usual found footage horror fare; it's a faux documentary carrying a very real eco-message.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 22, 2014
'Red 2 (Japan title: Red Returns)'
Director: Dean Parisot
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 15, 2014
Time to get over the 'shock' of aging actresses
"Americans can be strange about aging," said French actress Jeanne Moreau, in a brief interview she gave me back in 2005. She was then at the tail end of her 70s and had just co-starred with French heartthrob Melvil Poupaud in "Le Temps Qui Reste," as his sympathetic but alluring grandmother. As the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 15, 2014
'Winter's Tale'
There's something Shakespearean about "Winter's Tale." Perhaps it's the way everyone talks in British or Irish accents, faked or genuine; or how the emotions seem to fester in the depths of a hot caldron; or the grandiose gestures and sweeping statements that are often delivered out of context and leave...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 15, 2014
'After the Dark'
Rather than a gem, John Huddles' "After the Dark" (original titled "The Philosophers") is a diamond in the rough — but there's more rough here than diamond. Still, the premise is intriguing, and so is the setting: an international school in Jakarta on the final day of class.
Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA
May 15, 2014
'Walking With Dinosaurs 3D'
Directors: Barry Cook, Neil Nightingale
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 11, 2014
On drinking, May and battling the blues
According to T.S. Eliot, April is the cruelest month. But in Japan May ushers in some pretty heavy blues, too. The dual combination of haru no megumi (春の恵み, spring blessings) and haru no utsu (春の鬱, spring depression) makes for a challenging 31 days.
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.
Yen’s woes seem too big for even a BOJ hike this month to solve
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
China’s economic growth comes in worse than expected
Pedestrians in the Wangfujing shopping area in Beijing on July 11, 2024. China's economic growth in the second quarter was lower than forecast, adding pressure on Chinese leaders to lift confidence at the Chinese Communist Party's third plenum this week.
Kansai airports to increase takeoff and landing slots ahead of Osaka Expo
Kansai International Airport in Izumisano, Osaka Prefecture. The upper limit on the number of takeoff and landing slots at the airport as well as Kobe Airport in Hyogo Prefecture will be raised in spring next year ahead of the 2025 World Exposition in Osaka.
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.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
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.

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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Exploring Japanese culturevia Tohoku’s festivals
Exploring Japanese culturevia Tohoku’s festivals

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