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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
Oct 3, 2013
'Kiss of the Spider Woman (Kumo Onna no Kiss)'
Director: Hector Babenco
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 26, 2013
'Trashed'
It's hard to associate the uber-groomed, aquiline-profiled Jeremy Irons (“Damage,” “Die Hard: With a Vengeance”) with garbage. But in the documentary “Trashed,” which focuses on the problem of global waste, Irons wallows in it.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 26, 2013
'The Frozen Ground'
Based on a serial-killer spree in Anchorage, Alaska, in the late 1970s/early '80s, "The Frozen Ground" draws solid performances from an A-list cast but somehow falls short on terror. Writer/director Scott Walker is careful to maintain a dark, understated mood that blends in quite effectively with the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 26, 2013
Farinelli (Castrato)
Director: Gerard Corbiau
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 19, 2013
Finding forgiveness: Japan reworks a Western classic
Clint Eastwood's 1992 Academy Award winner “Unforgiven” has undergone a Japanese remake. “Yurusarezaru Mono” is loyal to Eastwood's classic Western but adds a pulsating core of Japanese-ness.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 19, 2013
'Chronicle'
The found-footage thing: It can be addictive. Though as a movie ploy, it always stumps me how the characters would actually go into a dark woods in the middle of the night ("The Blair Witch Project") or move their family into a house where a gruesome murder had taken place ("Sinister"). So much of the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 19, 2013
'Despicable Me 2'
Two things stand out about 2010 animated comedy "Despicable Me": The hero, Gru (Steve Carell), is a villain (a philosophical oxymoron in itself), and he's not that despicable. Sure, he freeze-dries people in front of him in line at Starbucks and tries to grab the coveted Star Villain slot on cable TV...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 19, 2013
'Blood (Japan title: Land's End: Yami no Koto)'
Director: Nick Murphy
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 15, 2013
Nadeshiko — adorable till they die
"France for food, Japan for wives." That was basically the conclusion made by French journalist/novelist Pierre Loti, who dropped by our shores in 1885 and wrote a book about his stay called "Madame Chrysantheme." Loti hadn't exactly caught the Japan bug — he was critical of many facets of Japanese...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 12, 2013
'Hyde Park on Hudson'
For all intents and purposes, "Hyde Park on Hudson" should have you on hello. Instead, it may leave you feeling the tiniest bit revolted. Focusing on the events of a weekend in the life of 32nd U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, arguably the best-loved commander-in-chief of the 20th century after...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 12, 2013
'Les Saveurs du Palais'
In France, female chefs rarely get to the top — and when they do, gender issues are rife. One way to deal with it is simply to ignore it, and in this story of chef Hortense Laborie (based on the real-life Daniele Delpeuch) it works. "Haute Cuisine" is the story of how she was hand-picked by Joel...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 12, 2013
'Suits'
Director: Various
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Sep 7, 2013
Ballet prodigy gets a big lift from mom
Sixteen-year old ballerina Miko Fogarty may be an American teen prodigy, but despite hailing from that land steeped in stardom culture, she seems to have none of the usual celebrity trappings — or to be particularly interested in them.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Sep 7, 2013
Miko Fogarty tells what it takes to be a teenage dance star
Unlike the stereotype of your average American teen, Miko Fogarty (16) is not talkative or exuberant. In this way she seems somewhat shy and reserved, almost as if she leans toward the Japanese part of her lineage despite being brought up in the United States. Or perhaps she's just sure of herself as...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 5, 2013
'Upside Down'
Here it is: the movie equivalent of a crazy, distracting, impossibly attractive lover. Everything about "Upside Down" is nutso preposterous but it draws you in and locks you in a warm embrace, declaring undying love and promising mystery and eternal longing forever more. If there was a way I could go...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 5, 2013
'Laurence Anyways'
Perhaps it's better to know the director before going in to see "Laurence Anyways": Xavier Dolan is all of 23 years old, yet this is already the Quebecois filmmaker's fourth feature. In other words, be prepared to cut the prolific (and many say brilliant) lad some slack. Bushels of it. Clocking in at...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 5, 2013
'Arrow'
Director: Various
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 29, 2013
Snyder ponders Superman's ultimate dilemma
Opening on the heels of that other summer blockbuster "Star Trek Into Darkness," "Man of Steel" is no smaller in scale but feels much more personal. That's probably because director Zack Snyder ("300," "Sucker Punch") is a hands-on kind of filmmaker, who secretly feels that if he can't stamp his personality...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 29, 2013
'Man of Steel'
Overwrought and overlong but thoroughly engrossing, "Man of Steel" is an experience akin to finding yourself standing next to an enormous turbo fan while trying to listen to a friend talk about his arduous Mount Everest expedition. On the one hand, you want to get out of the wind. It would be impolite...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 29, 2013
'The Addams Family'
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
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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