author

 
Menu
Search
 
July 16, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

Mark Schilling
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 16, 2005
Stripping it down, thriving on basics
Born in 1970 into an acting family -- his father is butoh master Akaji Maro and his brother is rising star Nao Omori -- Tatsushi Omori served as an assistant director for Junji Sakamoto and Kazuyuki Izutsu before working for producer/director Genjiro Arato on "Akame Shijuha-taki Shinju Misui" in 2003...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 3, 2005
Making a difference in Japanese cinema
Film critics, like any one else, have their pet causes -- films and careers they want to boost or bury. But unless they wield the clout of a Roger Ebert, they are just one voice in a choir that, with the Internet, is growing by the dozens every day. Singing as sweetly as they want about their favorite...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 6, 2005
A prize-winning director quite happy to have a laugh
With his short-brimmed hat and carefully trimmed goatee, Kenji Uchida looks strikingly like the private investigator played by So Yamanaka in "Unmei Janai Hito."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 16, 2005
Directing duo blossoms
In 1990, shortly after I started reviewing for The Japan Times, I saw a film by a former porno director, Shun Nakahara, that made me think I was not wasting my time after all.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 19, 2005
Not a whodunit but a whydunit
Coming last in a daylong round of media interviews, I was expecting my 40 minutes with Shinji Aoyama to be strained, as in "I'm so tired I can hardly stand." Instead, he came into the meeting room at Toho with a smile and a brisk manner, as in "I'm just getting warmed up." While he was obviously there...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 29, 2004
Buy local produce
Japanese films had a good 2004, even if eight of the 10 top box-office slots went to Hollywood. The Japanese exhibition business is coming to resemble the American one, with more multiplex screens and wider openings. This structure favors major Hollywood product -- the latest "Harry Potter" or "Lord...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 22, 2004
Making love from the inside out
Vital Rating: * * * 1/2 (out of 5) Director: Shinya Tsukamoto Running time: 86 minutes Language: Japanese Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] When Shinya Tsukamoto released his first feature, "Tetsuo," in 1989, many critics compared the crazed black-and-white speed dream...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 22, 2004
Tsukamoto's great escape
Although his onscreen characters usually range from the demonic to the neurotic, in person Shinya Tsukamoto is the picture of gentle-spirited, well-mannered sanity. One can imagine him as the ideal maitre d' for an exclusive club, able to soothe even the most savage millionaire.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 15, 2004
Godzilla is dead, long live Godzilla
What do most non-Japanese, Western or otherwise, know about Japanese films? About Japanese pop culture, period? More than they did a decade ago certainly, but let's get real: Go to a typical family gathering in America — blue state or red, it doesn't much matter — and ask those assembled...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 8, 2004
Dark clouds over Japan
Lady Joker Rating: * * * 1/2 (out of 5) Director: Hideyuki Hirayama Running time: 121 minutes Language: Japanese Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] Why do films about salarymen tend to be either heavy-footed, with the principals rarely cracking a smile or otherwise dispelling...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 1, 2004
Wanting a piece of the rebel
Aoi Kuruma Rating: * * * * (out of 5) Director: Hiroshi Okuhara Running time: 90 minutes Language: Japanese Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] Plenty of Japanese directors are making films about the way the young live now, so many that I could probably fill this space...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 22, 2004
And in the tattered black tights, Papa
Backdrop Papa Rating: * * * (out of 5) Director: Toshio Lee Running time: 98 minutes Language: Japanese Opens Oct. 8 [See Japan Times movie listings] Boys want their fathers to be heroes. Men want to be heroes to their sons. These truisms sound old-fashioned in today's unheroic Tokyo,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 15, 2004
You can't beat an old master
Coffee Jiko Rating: * * * 1/2 (out of 5) Director: Hou Hsiao- hsien Running time: 103 minutes Language: Japanese Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] Yasujiro Ozu's trademark style -- the low camera angles, the straight cuts, the actors talking at the camera in medium closeup...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 8, 2004
Director follows kabuki offstage to find the essence of onnagata
Musume Dojoji Rating: * * * (out of 5) Director: Yukiko Takayama Running time: 110 minutes Language: Japanese Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] Kabuki plays were an important source of material for early Japanese filmmakers, conferring prestige and popularity on their...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 1, 2004
Flickers in the dead of night
Kaidan Shinmimibukuro Rating: * * * 1/2 (out of 5) Director: See review Running time: 92 minutes Language: Japanese Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] The older I get, the harder I am to scare -- with horror movies at least. After a certain age, real life, including medical...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 25, 2004
No easy answers from Kore-eda
Directors who have been on the PR circuit long enough often have their answers ready before the interviewer's questions are halfway out of his mouth. Not Hirokazu Kore-eda. Despite the dozens of interviews he's given since "Nobody Knows (Daremo Shiranai)" screened in competition at this year's Cannes...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 25, 2004
While Mom was away
Nobody Knows Rating: * * * * (out of 5) Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda Running time: 141 minutes Language: Japanese Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings]
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 18, 2004
Violence and swordplay in wild, wild Edo
Izo Rating: * * * (out of 5) Director: Takashi Miike Running time: 128 minutes Language: Japanese Opens on Aug. 21 [See Japan Times movie listings] Swords are coming out all over. That's the impression I get watching recent swashbucklers from not only genre veterans like Kihachi Okamoto,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 11, 2004
This charming man hits wrong note
Kikansha Sensei Rating: * * 1/2 (out of 5) Director: Ryuichi Hiroki Running time: 123 minutes Language: Japanese Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] When I taught at a boys high school in the early 1980s, I would, without fail, catch a bad chest cold in the winter and...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 4, 2004
Life after the bomb
The Face of Jizo Rating: * * * 1/2 (out of 5) Director: Kazuo Kuroki Running time: 99 minutes Language: Japanese Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 were Japan's single greatest catastrophe of World War II. They...
Bloodied Trump survives assassination attempt at political rally
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is surrounded and evacuated by Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. Trump was rushed off stage at the rally after shots rang out.
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.
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.
Amid same-sex marriage ban, LGBTQ couples opt for 'photo weddings'
A lesbian couple, consisting of a 35-year-old woman (left) and 40-year-old woman, cover their faces with bouquets as they pose for wedding photos in Yokohama on Nov. 1.
China and Russia conduct joint Pacific military patrol
The Russian corvette Gromkiy enters the Chinese port of Zhanjiang as part of a joint China-Russia naval exercise on Saturday.
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.
How to tweak your diet when temperatures spike
Most people think of hydration as a strictly liquid-based concept, but eating foods with high water content is an essential part of making it through a Japanese summer unscathed.

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

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Omron helping firms achieve carbon neutrality
Omron helping firms achieve carbon neutrality

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER