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November 22, 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 29, 2016
'Alice Through the Looking Glass': Growing up is a complicated thing
Nothing is sacred anymore, but there really should be limits — even for Disney. "Alice Through the Looking Glass" is the sequel to Tim Burton's somewhat disastrous "Alice in Wonderland" (2010), which is where they really should have drawn the line. I regret to report that things in Wonderland have...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Jun 29, 2016
Werner Penzel's art therapy for the soul
The documentary "While We Kiss the Sky" (Japanese title "Kofuku wa Hibi no Naka Ni") opens nationwide this weekend, and it proffers a lot of hope and optimism for the future of Japanese society.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 25, 2016
Mary Reynolds says gardeners should take a walk on the wild side
Both horticulturalists and casual gardeners will be enthralled by "Dare to be Wild" ("Flower Show!" in Japan), a film based on the life of landscape designer Mary Reynolds.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 22, 2016
'Extraction': Mourning the career of Bruce Willis
Will Bruce Willis ever make it back to the fold of respected Hollywood action stars? Judging from his antics in his latest outing, "Extraction," the short answer to that is a huge "No." The long answer involves a private eulogy to an illustrious action career, and a tearful ode to all that was wonderful...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 15, 2016
The 'Silvered Water' of 'Syria Mon Amour'
"Syria Mon Amour," the Japan title of "Silvered Water, Syria Self-Portrait," is a direct homage to Alan Resnais' 1959 classic antiwar movie "Hiroshima Mon Amour" and reflects a desire on the part of the two-person distribution team to put the film in a Japanese context. The original title, however, is...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 15, 2016
'Irrational Man': The muddled world of Woody Allen
In the manner of Captain Renault in "Casablanca," I was shocked — shocked! — to find so much dialogue in a modern-day movie. But then "Irrational Man" is a Woody Allen venture and, apparently, Allen is unaware, or has chosen to ignore, that couples today do not talk incessantly with each other the...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 13, 2016
For 'overtime refugees,' home is where the heart isn't
At night in Japan's big cities, overtime refugees roam the streets in search of alcohol, solace or a quiet place to sit with their laptops.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 8, 2016
'Money Monster': Jodie Foster's thrilling investment
Money is the new sex at the movies. Actually, if we're honest, maybe it was also the old sex. Whatever — in our overly consumerist society, money is on everyone's mind and more filmmakers are discovering the excitement that a stock chart can generate.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 1, 2016
'Southpaw': Boxing that lacks punching power
Just because you've seen this story before doesn't mean you shouldn't see it again ... I think. "Southpaw" is an excessive, some may even say maniacal, retread of boxing movie classics such as the "Rocky" franchise, "The Fighter" and "Raging Bull. But it's so well performed and extravagantly financed...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 25, 2016
'The Huntsman: Winter's War': On reflection, there's little new here
There are so many conflicting messages in "The Huntsman: Winter's War" that after the first half hour you give up trying to decipher them, only to realize they aren't messages at all but a grab bag of snippets from various Hollywood blockbusters.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
May 25, 2016
A little 'je ne sais quois' from Eric Rohmer
Everything we know about French films, we learned from Eric Rohmer. At least for Japanese cinema lovers, that's what it felt like, especially in the late 20th century.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 23, 2016
The secret joy of being a Japanese woman (no, really)
This patriarchal society provides a lot more wriggle room for women, leaving men with precious little in terms of loopholes and options.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 11, 2016
'Beyond The Reach': Desert thriller runs dry on substance
I couldn't stop thinking about sunscreen during the first two minutes of "Beyond the Reach." After 15 minutes I was trying to conjure up images of polar ice caps and northern lights. This is what happens when fragile people like me are overexposed to UV rays, even when they are cinematic. The sight...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 4, 2016
'Six Four': Japan held hostage by the Showa Era
'Don't you understand what is to have a child taken from you? How could you be a policeman and not understand that?"
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 4, 2016
'Backtrack': Haunted by other people's pasts
These days, according to a New York Times Opinionator article by Richard Brouillette (March 16, 2015), the psychotherapist's job is on shifting ground. Doctors are now dealing less with relationships and family problems and treating more patients suffering from workplace trauma and financial stress....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 27, 2016
Van Sant plots a bleak hike through Aokigahara
At least Arthur Brennan didn't want sushi, an AKB48 concert or a night out on the town with a maiko (trainee geisha) on his arm. As Japan's ranking soars on the international travelers' destination lists, the more cliched their itineraries seem to get. But Matthew McConaughey's Brennan of Gus Van Sant's...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 27, 2016
'Noma My Perfect Storm': Pierre Deschamps serves food for thought
Over the past decade or so, the demand and expectations of high-end restaurants around the world have gone up, with more people interested in enjoying quality or unusual culinary experiences. This might seem a bit rich coming after the United Nations declared in 2009 that global food production needs...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 25, 2016
Give my love to Kyoto — if you get to see her
The 'hometown of the Japanese heart' is bursting at the seams with foreign tourists. There just isn't any room for us indigenous Japanese folk anymore.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 20, 2016
'The 5th Wave': Not quite on the crest of YA action films
The good news is that since the "Hunger Games" series of films, the young-adult (YA) action film genre is officially not only a thing, but also a Hollywood force to be reckoned with. The bad news is that not all YA movies are made equal, but the duds are still likely to spawn sequels.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 13, 2016
‘Spotlight’: a beacon for investigative journalism
In 1976 the film "All the President's Men" portrayed the true story of Washington Post reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward (Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford) uncovering the Watergate Scandal. It wasn't the first time in cinema that journalists took center stage, but it was one of few films that...
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Russia launched intercontinental ballistic missile during attack on Ukraine, Kyiv says
A Yars intercontinental ballistic missile is launched during a test from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in Northern Arkhangelsk region of Russia, in this still image captured from video released on Oct. 29.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
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.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

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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