Monthly Archives: June 2018

Review: Winchester

Posted on June 29, 2018 by philipbrasor

During the horror film’s formative heyday in the 80s, trashiness was next to godliness. Perhaps by necessity, the gory goings-on were delivered via hilariously ridiculous plots that were gentle on whatever degree of intelligence was brought to the proceedings. Even … Continue reading →

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Review: Wonder Wheel

Posted on June 25, 2018 by philipbrasor

It’s often difficult to tell with Woody Allen where the satire ends and the pretension begins. The narrator of Wonder Wheel is a would-be writer named Mickey (Justin Timberlake), who toots his own horn often enough while relating the sad … Continue reading →

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Review: Only the Brave

Posted on June 23, 2018 by philipbrasor

Though stuffed to the gills with macho signifiers and the sentimentalized homoerotic comradeship of men in peril, this action film about the job of forest firefighting is notable for the way it incorporates the minutiae of the job into a … Continue reading →

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Review: April’s Daughter

Posted on June 17, 2018 by philipbrasor

Mexican director Michel Franco’s signature is a sensationalistic storyline told in a dry manner. The basic idea of April’s Daughter is made for tabloid TV—teen pregnancy as the natural outcome of a broken home. However, Franco doesn’t present this scenario … Continue reading →

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Media Mix, June 17, 2018

Posted on June 17, 2018 by philipbrasor

Here’s this week’s Media Mix about elderly drivers. I mention that some local governments have tried to address the problem by providing transportation services for seniors who give up their cars, but I didn’t go into detail. This is a … Continue reading →

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Review: The Big House

Posted on June 14, 2018 by philipbrasor

As a documentary filmmaker, Kazuhiro Soda goes with what he knows, or, more precisely, who he knows. In most cases his subjects are people he’s close to, and while the relationship makes the filmmaking process easier and more open it … Continue reading →

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Review: The Day After

Posted on June 11, 2018 by philipbrasor

Hong Sang-soo’s antiromantic comedies differ little in terms of narrative themes, and tend to distinguish themselves through formal construction. The Day After is almost unique among his films in that its form is conventional—no “what if” digressions or POV mischief—and … Continue reading →

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Media Mix, June 10, 2018

Posted on June 10, 2018 by philipbrasor

Here’s this week’s Media Mix, which is about the media’s sudden interest in the detention of undocumented foreigners. As pointed out in the column, most of the people being detained are overstayers, but apparently there is a good many who … Continue reading →

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Review: Last Flag Flying

Posted on June 8, 2018 by philipbrasor

It would be difficult to make a better military-themed movie than The Last Detail, the 1973 Hal Ashby adaptation of Darryl Ponicsan’s debut novel about two fun-loving sailors escorting a third to the brig for the ignominiuos crime of pilfering … Continue reading →

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Review: Shoplifters

Posted on June 7, 2018 by philipbrasor

It will be interesting to see the reaction in Japan to Hirokazu Kore-eda’s latest film, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes last month. Though Kore-eda has tackled socially relevant topics in the past, most notably in his 2004 shocker … Continue reading →

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