Sorry to say, The Japan Times film review page doesn't make sense. On Aug. 15, for example, reviewer Kaori Shoji found the flick "Sex and the City" to be "troubling, overly long, contrived, unnecessarily fussed at, impossibly cumbersome, excessive." She trashed it. Yet, it received a three-star rating out of five. That doesn't pass the logic test.
Ditto for Mark Schilling's take on "Dosokai," a decidedly negative review, but earning three out of five stars. Giovanni Fazio's overview of "Les Paul: Chasing Sound" (3 1/2 stars) was at least consistent with an overall favorable and informative review that whetted my interest as a movie fan and guitarist. But why use half-stars? That makes for nine possible permutations of what is after all a subjective rating. How about a thumbs up or down? Or a smiley face or a frown?
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