Monthly Archives: December 2018

Best Albums 2018

Posted on December 31, 2018 by philipbrasor

The album as a delivery device for music has been dying for more than a decade now, or, at least, that’s what the pundits say. What struck me more than anything about the way new music was presented this past … Continue reading →

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Best Movies 2018

Posted on December 29, 2018 by philipbrasor

I lost my last paying gig as a movie reviewer this year, which means I now watch movies for free, in every sense of the term. I still get invited to press screenings, and attend one or two a week, … Continue reading →

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Review: A Star Is Born

Posted on December 23, 2018 by philipbrasor

It didn’t take much to make the latest iteration of A Star Is Born better than its immediate precedent, the Streisand-Kristofferson vehicle, which has become something of a camp classic while retaining its critical rep as a dog. Nevertheless, there … Continue reading →

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Review: Ralph Breaks the Internet

Posted on December 20, 2018 by philipbrasor

I’m probably not the first person to think that Ralph Wrecks the Internet would have been a better title for this sequel to the Disney hit Wreck-It Ralph, since it would have taken better advantage of familiarity with the original. … Continue reading →

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Review: The Grinch

Posted on December 14, 2018 by philipbrasor

It seems, well, almost Grinch-like to complain about a new Christmas movie while we’re smack dab in the middle of the Christmas season, but, then again, The Grinch isn’t new. This is the third film iteration of the beloved Dr. … Continue reading →

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Media Mix, Dec. 9, 2018

Posted on December 9, 2018 by philipbrasor

Here’s this week’s Media Mix about the local press reaction to the two South Korean Supreme Court verdicts that found in favor of workers who sued Japanese companies for mistreatment during World War II. The main thrust of the column … Continue reading →

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Review: Our Departures

Posted on December 7, 2018 by philipbrasor

As a Canadian film acquaintance put it, Our Departures is a classic Shochiku release: sentimental, not too dramatic, and warmly funny in spots. It’s also about the importance of family, even if the family in question is unconventional, but, then, … Continue reading →

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Interview with Im Sang-soo

Posted on December 3, 2018 by philipbrasor

The following interview was conducted at the Pusan International Film Festival in October 2006. It originally appeared in The Japan Times. The interview with Im Sang-soo takes place in a karaoke room in the basement of the Paradise Hotel. Though … Continue reading →

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Review: The Cakemaker

Posted on December 2, 2018 by philipbrasor

Israeli director Ofir Raul Graizer’s debut feature is a deceptively wicked take on romantic transference in that his strikingly unusual plot devices don’t seem that striking when they happen since they are so seamessly woven into the fabric of the … Continue reading →

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Review: Hereditary

Posted on December 1, 2018 by philipbrasor

By far the most effective element in Ari Aster’s debut horror movie is Toni Collette’s face. Hereditary veers wildly and often incomprehensibly between domestic psychological drama and occult mystery, and the only thing holding it together is Collette’s command of … Continue reading →

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