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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
Feb 25, 2015
Lupin III (Japan title: Rupan Sansei)
Director: Ryuhei Kitamura Language: Japanese and English
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 25, 2015
French artiste par excellence hails noh highs
French comedian extraordinaire Guillaume Gallienne has a sizeable Japanese fan base, which gratifies him most heartily.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 18, 2015
Rudderless: 'a missed opportunity to really engage with teenage violence'
William H. Macy — long noted as one of the most respected actors of our age (for those who missed him, watch "Fargo" for starters) — has now emerged as a filmmaker.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 18, 2015
The Fault in Our Stars: 'teenage love and girlish fantasy that doesn't become corny'
Shailene Woodley's finest performance yet is her portrayal of Hazel, the 18-year-old cancer patient in "The Fault in Our Stars," whom she imbues with her particular brand of vitality, beauty and an unshakable sense of entitlement.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 18, 2015
Lucy
Director: Luc Besson Language: English
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 11, 2015
The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: 'a compelling and ambitious five-hour love story'
'The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby" is a sprawling, three-part love story opening on Valentine's Day that wraps itself around the senses like a thick curtain. Director Ned Benson is trying to do something radically different as he takes us through a single love story told from three different perspectives:...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 11, 2015
Life of Riley: 'death is on everyone's mind'
France's Alain Resnais ("Hiroshima mon amour," "Last Year at Marienbad") died last year at age 91, with 50 titles to his name and a career that spanned more than six decades. His final film, "Life of Riley," was completed shortly before he passed away.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 11, 2015
Utopia
Language: English
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 9, 2015
Plumbing the delicious depths of February with ume
Traditionally, Kisaragi (如月, the old name for February) was considered a month of hope — a chance to wipe the slate clean and start over. Before the nation switched to the Western calendar, it was the month for ushering in Oshōgatsu (お正月, New Year) and marked a time when everyone took it...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 4, 2015
Growing younger in a super-aged society
Old age. It used to be a subject people tried to avoid, but now, as Japan hurtles toward a super-aged society where almost 15 percent of the populace is over 75 years old, the general feeling is that we had better deal with it.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 4, 2015
Begin Again: 'Rekindling platonic love'
You know when a boy and girl meet, hit it off, but keep the relationship platonic — and it's sweet and memorable forever? This practically never happens in the movies. The last time it did (as far I can recall) was in "Once" back in 2006, directed by Ireland's John Carney.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 4, 2015
'The Face of Love': Falling for a doppelganger
Back in the 20th century, there was an unwritten consensus of sorts that actors and actresses over a certain age should not be involved in heavyweight love scenes. But over the last decade, veteran performers have been cast in romantic comedies of all kinds, with or without garments. Fifty is the new...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 4, 2015
The Suspect (Suspect: Kanashiki Yogi-Sha)
Director: Won Shin-yeon Language: Korean (subtitled in English)
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 28, 2015
Draft Day: 'Delirious, intoxicated with its own colossal machismo'
In the world of movies, what does a celebrated baseball player do after he leaves the cinematic field? If he happens to be Kevin Costner, who made his fair share of baseball movies, he makes a little detour into golf ("Tin Cup") before coming back as a general manager for the NFL, in a film called "Draft...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 28, 2015
Wild Card: 'Jason Statham doing the same thing he always does'
Moviemakers love Jason Statham. How else to describe the fact that he's consistently played the same type of guy in the same type of situations for two decades, without ever being required to change a thing. Other action stars branch out into romantic comedies, relationship sagas, period dramas; Statham...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 28, 2015
Breathe In (Japan title: Anatatono Kiss Madeno Kyori)
Director: Drake Doremus Language: English
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 21, 2015
Jemaine Clement: Bloodsucking and bored at the end of the world
The newest vampire movie to take film festivals by storm, "What We Do in the Shadows," is the work of two New Zealanders: actor Jemaine Clement ("Flight of the Conchords") and actor/director Taika Waititi ("Boy"). Together they wrote, directed and star in a movie that was made on a small budget — "a...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 21, 2015
Mystery: 'Asian sensuality against the backdrop of polluted cities'
'Fifty shades of pitch black" is an apt way to describe "Mystery." It's a feel-awful anti-love film that should come with a huge warning label for anyone contemplating marriage or even a long-term commitment. On the other hand, it's a raw and compelling look at contemporary Chinese society, as the emerging...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 21, 2015
Annie: 'mobile-phone mogul takes in an orphan to boost public image'
Movie musicals sit badly with some people — the sudden moments where the cast break into song and dance can sometimes work better on the stage. "Annie" is a case in point, since director Will Gluck appears to be a tad uncomfortable with musicals, and rushes over the scenes like a man with a flight...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 21, 2015
Les Reines du Ring (Japan title: Mama wa Wrestling Queen)
Director: Jean-Marc Rudnicki Language: French (subtitled in Japanese and English)
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 fired experimental ballistic missile at Ukraine, Putin says
Ukrainian firefighters work on a spot following an airstrike in Dnipro on Thursday.
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.
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.
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.

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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