Monthly Archives: January 2020

Review: Knives Out

Posted on January 31, 2020 by philipbrasor

At this late date there’s little originality to be squeezed from the rind of the classic drawing room murder mystery epitomized by the work of Agatha Christie. Personally, I’ve always found the genre, with its strictly structured setups, carefully dropped … Continue reading →

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Review: La promesse de l’aube (Promise at Dawn)

Posted on January 30, 2020 by philipbrasor

When you look at the life of French novelist Romain Gary, there are a lot of incidental notes that could make for fascinating sidetrips by themselves. One is that he is the only French writer to have ever won the … Continue reading →

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Review: The Man Who Killed Don Quixote

Posted on January 24, 2020 by philipbrasor

It’s the slightest of serendipities to note that two days after the great Terry Jones died at the age of 77, another Terry who toiled in the same comedy group and, like Jones, a man who made a second career … Continue reading →

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Review: Horse Thieves

Posted on January 20, 2020 by philipbrasor

The unwieldy title of this feature film from Kazakhstan that was trotted out for film festivals is The Horse Thieves, The Road of Time, which is far too much information and points to a loss of clarity as to what … Continue reading →

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Media Mix, Jan. 19, 2020

Posted on January 19, 2020 by philipbrasor

Here’s this week’s Media Mix, which is about the detention of foreigners who don’t happen to be Carlos Ghosn, mainly by the immigration authority rather than the police or prosecutors. First, I should mention that the header chosen by the … Continue reading →

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Review: The Aeronauts (Into the Sky)

Posted on January 19, 2020 by philipbrasor

About the only way to approach Tom Harper’s two-handed adventure film is as a problem in search of a solution. Though based thinly on a true story (or, more exactly, elements from several true stories), the film’s adventure component is … Continue reading →

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Review: Richard Jewell

Posted on January 18, 2020 by philipbrasor

Though Clint Eastwood’s oft-discussed tendency to inject his personal cultural prejudices into his movies seems to become more pronounced with age, he is more likely to get away with that proclivity in films where he also stars, probably because the … Continue reading →

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Review: Jojo Rabbit

Posted on January 17, 2020 by philipbrasor

Director Taika Waititi sincerely tries to hedge his bets with his Oscar-nominated Nazi comedy by labeling it right off the bat as an “anti-hate satire,” which, of course, gives the impression that the New Zealand director, not-so-fresh off the success … Continue reading →

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Media Mix, Jan. 12, 2020

Posted on January 12, 2020 by philipbrasor

Here’s this week’s Media Mix about the Japan Post Holdings scandal, which is mainly about the way NHK was prevented from covering the matter fully. Two pertinent points that aren’t made fully clear in the column is that Yasuo Suzuki, … Continue reading →

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Review: Motherless Brooklyn

Posted on January 11, 2020 by philipbrasor

Edward Norton is arguably Hollywood’s most idiosyncratic movie star, a description that will find pushback in some circles for two reasons: Norton doesn’t present as a “star” and his idiosyncrasies aren’t apparent in all the work he’s done. Motherless Brooklyn, … Continue reading →

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