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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 10, 2015
Zach Braff on the many woes of American dads and crowdfunding
The American dad is doing well, even if he is not what he used to be. Despite the lasting effects of the Great Recession on the U.S. economy and all the other bad stuff that undermines the morale of American males, he is still around — you'll see the evidence in "Wish I Was Here."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 3, 2015
Should Adam Sandler be slapped for 'The Cobbler'?
There have been times when I've thought that the reason I was put on the Earth was to keep a strict watch on Adam Sandler. There he was, being his rude, crude, fidgety self with bad posture, and there I was in the screening room, ready to jump into the movie to smash him over the nose with a fly swatter....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Jun 3, 2015
Festival of off-center European films comes to Tokyo and Kyoto
One of the main goals of a film festival is to show movies that audiences won't get to see otherwise. For the festival operators there's another objective: testing reactions to films and stories, and using that information for marketing purposes. And with the number of film festivals being held in Japan...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 27, 2015
Capturing the grief and confusion of an immigrant Asian mother
Asian mothers always seem to overdo it — both in real life and in cinema.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 27, 2015
The mysterious appeal of bras, cleavage and singing teenagers in 'Pitch Perfect'
'Pitch Perfect" is a lively, likable movie. I'm not saying that out of a fear of sounding like a curmudgeonly granny who has to Google "peach slapped" to know what it means — but there's always that risk.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 25, 2015
Tried and trusted cures for May's hay fever, chills and ira ira
Despite the glorious weather, the azaleas in full bloom and traditional spring treats that grace the table this month, May is tinged with sorrow.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 21, 2015
The must-see list is long at Short Shorts film fest
When it comes to getting a movie fix these days, more people opt for their computer screens than venturing outside to a theater. Hollywood has countered this trend with a slew of 3-D blockbusters and cinematic largesse, but how does the short film fare?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 20, 2015
Danish filmmaker's emotional, queasy 'Second Chance'
Scandinavian countries consistently come out tops on the happiness index but Danish filmmaker Susanne Bier ("Love is All You Need") continues in her apparent quest to dig up the darkest muck in the river bed of the human soul. If you're familiar with Bier's world, you'll know how her characters always...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 20, 2015
Blomkamp's sentimental 'Chappie' comes alive
'Chappie" could almost be described as "Three Thugs and a Baby Bot." Though the story raises Isaac Asimov-like issues of good vs. evil in the context of robot technology and its human creators, philosophy takes a back seat as family sentiments sashay to center stage. The titular character is a robot...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
May 20, 2015
Urban planning
"Inside Architecture — Dare mo Shiranai Kenchiku no Hanashi" is a fascinating look at the relationship between money and city planning, economy and architecture. The filmmaker behind this formidable documentary is 38-year-old Tomomi Ishiyama, a Fulbright scholar who studied at New York City University...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 13, 2015
As Geki×Cine raises its game, Amami goes into battle for her man
Geki×Cine isn't really film and it isn't theater, but rather an intriguing blend of the two. With geki meaning "stage," and "cine" representing film, the finished productions are shown on the big screen. So are they stage-to-screen adaptations? Most certainly not. More accurately, they are stage plays...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 13, 2015
'Ao no Ran' is a riproaring rhapsody in blue
"Ao no Ran" is the latest in the popular Geki×Cine series. To cut a long story short, Geki×Cine is a filmed stage production, but one done so meticulously that not a single moment of relevance or emotion is lost in the translating process.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 7, 2015
Acting brings magic to otherwise flat script
"Horns" is a stewing, blood-infused cauldron of atmospheric horror — and you can expect no less from director Alexandre Aja whose track record so far is frightening ("Piranha 3D," "High Tension"). With "Horns," however, Aja has ventured into adaptation territory (up till now, he had mostly worked on...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 4, 2015
Dating in Japan never used to be this difficult — or creepy
It's spring and love should be in the air. But it's a bad, bad time to be out there in the dating scene.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 29, 2015
Will Smith gets under a waterfall of money in 'Focus'
Will Smith rarely smiles when he isn't running around in a "Men in Black" film. Which is a shame, because comedy and Smith seem like a natural match, especially when he is paired with Tommy Lee Jones, his trusted curmudgeon buddy in the MIB series.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 29, 2015
Tiny House documentary makes Tokyo apartments look like palaces
"Small is Beautiful" is a documentary about the TH (Tiny House) movement, the latest underground trend in housing and real estate in the U.S. In the next few years, though, TH could go mainstream thanks to a growing online community that shares information about what's on the TH market and how to actually...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 22, 2015
Ukraine's young actress in a coded world without sound
Yana Novikova is a 21-year-old Ukranian actress who was born deaf. She is one of the leads in "The Tribe," a near-silent film starring a cast of deaf actors who communicate only through sign and body language. There are no subtitles.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 22, 2015
OMG, are GMOs altering our bodies?
Oh, for the innocent days of old, when one could lick ice cream cones or eat cupcakes with pink icing without thinking anything except "Do I get seconds?" Nowadays, no eating experience can be defined by such blissful ignorance, unless you want to get in the fast lane to the land of obesity, Type 2 diabetes,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 15, 2015
The trauma of becoming exceptional
Long before it won three Oscars and was nominated for best picture, "Whiplash" — about the mesmerizing and often inexplicable relationship between a music student and his demonically obsessive teacher— had created a big stir in Japan. Media darling and California-based film critic Tomohiro Machiyama...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 15, 2015
'The Search' for a reprieve from war in Chechnya
Prestigious film awards are often a kiss of death. After all the commotion and red-carpet moments of glory, the winners may fade away or become the victims of attacks launched by the media. Such is the case with Michel Hazanavicius, who bagged a totally-out-of-left-field Oscar for best director in 2012...
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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