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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
Mar 15, 2013
'Jack the Giant Slayer'
A fantastical (and technically stunning) spin on a classic bedtime story, "Jack the Giant Slayer" doesn't tell us anything new, but some moments may give nightmares to the under-12s. The fee-fi-fo-fum ambience is there, but director Bryan Singer (of "X-Men" franchise fame) instead mostly turns the dials...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 15, 2013
'Searching for Sugar Man'
Ever heard of a Detroit-based musician by the name of Sixto Rodriguez? If so, you're extraordinarily well informed, or perhaps you spent some time in South Africa during the late 1970s. But if you're unaware of the man or his music, "Searching for Sugar Man" is the best place to start, and the payoff...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 15, 2013
The Bourne Legacy
In this major overhaul of the lucrative "Bourne" franchise, Matt Damon is replaced by Jeremy Renner ("Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol") and Bourne himself is relegated to a mere mythic figure instead of appearing as a flesh-and-blood agent. Groan? Possibly. Renner as agent Aaron Cross is rough around...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 11, 2013
A personal invitation to the I-hate-cherry-blossoms club
It's that time of year when the Japanese turn their thoughts to what I call the 3-S's: sakura (桜, cherry blossoms), sakamori (酒盛り, drinking parties) and shuran (酒乱, getting raucously drunk).
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 8, 2013
Lockout
Directors: James Mather, Stephen St. Leger
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 8, 2013
'Bel Ami'
If you thought the tsk-tsk antics of the French aristocracy ended when the peasants stormed the Bastille, "Bel Ami" is here to tell you that corruption and debauchery among the upper classes carried on for at least a century more.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 8, 2013
'Amour'
You're old, sick and bedridden. You've just suffered a stroke and lost most of your motor skills. Who will tend to your basic needs, brush your hair and see to it that you hold on to at least a semblance of personal dignity? Increasingly in the modern world, the answer to that is a professional caregiver....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 1, 2013
'Flight'
Be prepared for the most terrifying flying experience you're ever likely to encounter, expertly created by Robert Zemeckis ("Forrest Gump," "Back to the Future") and engineered on-screen by Denzel Washington. "Flight" may put you off air travel for a while, but on the other hand if the plane you're aboard...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 1, 2013
'Shadow Dancer'
If you'll excuse the pun, Andrea Riseborough is a star on the rise. In her home ground of Great Britain she's famed for her role in 2010's "Brighton Rock," and in the U.S. she turned heads last year with her performance in Madonna's "W.E." In her face you see a wealth of what many psychiatrists have...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 1, 2013
'Haywire'
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Feb 26, 2013
Everything you wanted to know about Western women (but were afraid to ask): No-holds-barred guide targets Japanese men
Here's an open secret: Japanese men have a bad international reputation on the romance front.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 22, 2013
Silver Linings Playbook
Sometimes life falls off its dreary grid and takes on the texture and flavor of strawberry chiffon cake. That's kind of what happens when watching "Silver Linings Playbook": The more this romantic comedy-drama about an ex-teacher with mental-health problems and the people around him progresses, the more...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Feb 17, 2013
Bringing the love of short films to a local audience
If there was a birthday cake for the Brillia Short Shorts Theater, it would probably be an elegant, minimalist affair — no excessive decorations, nothing too calorific and five slim candles giving off a modest orange glow. One of just four movie theaters in and around Tokyo dedicated to short films,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 15, 2013
'A Good Day to Die Hard'
I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that if you had to see yet another 20th-century action star, alive and well and kicking ass for the benefit of the over-40s crowd — and that star is Bruce Willis, whom you can remember as having a full head of hair (brunette) and a terrible taste in suits...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 11, 2013
Providing for old age somehow connects to V-day blues
I was talking to a joshikōsei (女子高生, high school girl) friend of mine (yes, I'm fully aware of this exalted position) and she told me that these days in sociology class, Japanese teens are taught that by the time they start paying taxes, the ratio of college grad workers to nenkinzoku (年金族,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 8, 2013
How to cope when home is where the radiation is?
When she hears the phrase "a sense of home," filmmaker Michale Boganim always endures a wave of sadness. "Home can mean a whole lot of things, but to me it has connotations of displacement and loss," she tells The Japan Times. "I come from a family that was always moving around, and even as we were moving,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 8, 2013
'Land of Oblivion'
It's 1996. Anya (Olga Kurylenko) works as a guide on a tour bus that takes people through Pripyat, a town located just 3 km from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine. The tourists, all of varying ages and nationalities, listen somewhat bored to Anya's descriptions of April 26, 1986, a decade...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 1, 2013
'Jack Reacher'
Every time I witness the presence of Tom Cruise in Tokyo, I imagine the possibilities of him moving here as a permanent resident. He loves sushi (apparently a frequent customer at Sukiyabashi Jiro). He knows the streets of Ginza. He's clearly work addicted. Unlike in the U.S. no one here will ever direct...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 1, 2013
Dedication on a plate in 'Jiro Dreams of Sushi'
To be a shokunin (artisan) in Japan means, among other things, rising in the morning to do the exact same thing as yesterday and the day before and the day before.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 1, 2013
'Jiro Dreams of Sushi'
To describe "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" as a foodie film is akin to picking an English rose and calling it a flower. This documentary by New York-based David Gelb is at once a celebration of one of the world's most popular and coveted meals, and a firsthand observation of Japan's most famous sushi chef at...
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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