Monthly Archives: June 2019

Review: Cold War

Posted on June 29, 2019 by philipbrasor

According to Thomas Wolfe, you can’t go home again, but that doesn’t mean you can’t learn something in the attempt. I don’t know which country the 62-year-old Polish director Pawel Pawlikowski currently calls home—he left his native land for England … Continue reading →

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Media Mix, June 23, 2019

Posted on June 23, 2019 by philipbrasor

Here’s this week’s Media Mix about animal welfare, a topic we’ve written about before but usually in the context of cultural perception. What makes the subject particularly perplexing in Japan is the cognitive dissonance created when the cavalier and often … Continue reading →

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Review: Dark Phoenix

Posted on June 22, 2019 by philipbrasor

The flaw in the X-Men saga that outsiders can’t quite get past is the mutant pretense that is its whole reason for being. Though the idea of mutants being social outcasts despite their super powers and tendency to use them … Continue reading →

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Media Mix, June 16, 2019

Posted on June 16, 2019 by philipbrasor

Here’s this week’s Media Mix about the widespread anxiety surrounding social recluses. The column is mainly about the unfounded belief that hikikomori are potentially dangerous to themselves and others, and while experts do think that some hikikomori present with symptoms … Continue reading →

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Review: We Are Little Zombies

Posted on June 15, 2019 by philipbrasor

Young people in Japanese and Korean indies often evince a distinct cognitive dissonance, purposely rubbing against the stereotype of the good son or daughter in the Confucian tradition. Those of us who are not Japanese or Korean may feel cut … Continue reading →

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Review: The Fireflies Are Gone

Posted on June 14, 2019 by philipbrasor

Disaffected youth is a currency that filmmakers never tire of trying to exchange in hopes of finding a theme that suits their world view. Everybody was young once, and if experience counts for a lot when telling a story, the … Continue reading →

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Review: Aladdin

Posted on June 7, 2019 by philipbrasor

Disney’s latest live action—or, more precisely, CGI-assisted—remake of a beloved animated classic hits perhaps too close to home in my case. The original Aladdin was the first movie I reviewed for a print publication, albeit in capsule form, and the … Continue reading →

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Review: Jesus

Posted on June 1, 2019 by philipbrasor

There’s something refreshingly irreverent about Hiroshi Okuyama’s debut feature, but it’s not in the Japanese title, which translates directly as “I hate Jesus.” Appropriately small-scale in both production values and ideas, the movie posits Christianity as an object of curiosity. … Continue reading →

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