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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
May 31, 2013
'Oldboy' director casts dark shadow on Hollywood
“Stoker,” a film so rich and chocolatey with nuance and innuendo you could eat it with a spoon, is, amazingly, directed by a filmmaker who doesn't speak English.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 31, 2013
'Stoker'
Meet the Stoker family: wealthy, well-bred and seemingly isolated from the world. Mom Evie (Nicole Kidman) seems to have nothing more to do than weave elegantly around the house with a drink in her hand, looking fabulous. Dad Richard (Dermot Mulroney) is an architect who got his Ph.D at the age of 24....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 31, 2013
'Here Comes the Boom' (Japan title: Tokon Sensei)
Director: Frank Coraci
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 31, 2013
'Maniac'
Elijah Wood, best known for his work in the "Lord of the Rings" series and for having been around since babyhood, is perhaps looking to branch out as an actor. That would explain "Maniac," a remake of the 1980 slasher movie recognized among horror fans as the precursor to "The Silence of the Lambs."...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 24, 2013
'The Place Beyond the Pines'
Though religion is never an issue, the sins of the fathers is a theme that reverberates with biblical overtones in "The Place Beyond the Pines." After his intense examination of a marriage gone sour in "Blue Valentine," director/writer Derek Cianfrance teams up once again with actor Ryan Gosling...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 24, 2013
'Celeste and Jesse Forever'
You don't know what you've got until it's gone. This banal platitude is the essence of "Celeste and Jesse Forever," a romcom that recalls those heartwarmin,' chick-pleasin' love stories of the 1990s and early 2000s.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 24, 2013
'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2'
Director: Bill Condon
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 17, 2013
'Bill Cunningham New York'
Bill Cunningham is one of the long-revered icons of The New York Times: If you are incredibly lucky, you may catch a glimpse of his blue-jacketed figure walking through the doors of the Times building on Eighth Avenue, camera bag slung around his shoulder, his jaunty step belying his 84 years.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 17, 2013
'In Their Skin (Japan title: Replica)'
Director: Jeremy Power Regimbal
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 13, 2013
It ain't easy being a bilingual girl
This bilingual thing ... they say that it's a both curse and a blessing. Watakushigotode kyōshukudesuga (私事で恐縮ですが, A thousand pardons for having the gall to talk about myself), but I think of it more like a stigma. It's not the same for millenials — they were born and raised in a kinder...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 10, 2013
'God Save My Shoes'
The Why is missing from the How in "God Save My Shoes," a documentary focusing on the female obsession for footwear. But the package is still a treat — if we can't afford to buy 300 pairs of sculpted beauties, the next best thing is to salivate over footage of other women throwing open their shoes...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 10, 2013
'Eames: The Architect and the Painter'
Produced by Jason Cohn and Bill Jersey (there is no director credit), documentary "Eames: The Architect and the Painter" examines Charles and Ray Eames, one of the 20th century's most enduring and influential couples in industrial design. They were eccentric, too: In the film, a colleague of the Eames'...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 10, 2013
'Taken 2 (Japan title: 96 Jikan Revenge)'
Director: Olivier Megaton
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 3, 2013
'Gangster Squad'
You know the drill," says L.A. gang lord Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) to his henchmen, and they immediately pick up actual drills and get to work on their victims. The screen gets sprayed with enough blood to relieve a drought. So if Mickey Cohen says "Hammer it out," are those henchmen going to get hammers...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 3, 2013
'Ruby Sparks'
Directors: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 26, 2013
Murakami's 'Jellyfish Eyes' blends kawaii and creepy into a postquake critique
In the West he's been referred to as 'the other Murakami.' To those in Japan, the difference is so prominent that very few would ever confuse artist-cum-filmmaker Takashi Murakami with novelist Haruki Murakami.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 26, 2013
Gondry's bus proves a great vehicle for teen drama
Franu00e7ois Truffaut once said that the most important quality for a filmmaker is to retain his inner child. In that sense, Michel Gondry fits the bill almost to a fault.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 26, 2013
'The We and the I'
Being a teenager in America must be more delightful than being a teenager in Pakistan, right? But as "The We and the I" demonstrates with much insight and jarring eloquence, the American teen deal comes with its own pain. No, really. Handcrafted with loving care by French director Michel Gondry, "The...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 26, 2013
'The Last Stand'
They just don't make movies like "The Last Stand" anymore: so bad that bad becomes the new normal. Directed by Korea's Kim Jee Woon ("The Good, the Bad and the Weird"), this resurrects the "Governator" aka Arnold Schwarzenegger, in his first lead role in over a decade. He plays Sheriff Ray Owens, the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 26, 2013
'The Mule (Border Run)'
Director: Gabriela Tagliavini
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.

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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'
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