Monthly Archives: June 2020

Hansen’s disease lawsuit compensation update

Posted on June 29, 2020 by philipbrasor

In the March 14 installment of Media Mix, I wrote about the new law passed last November to compensate families of Hansen’s Disease patients for the discrimination they faced and still face. As pointed out in the column, the majority … Continue reading →

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Review: Over the Limit

Posted on June 27, 2020 by philipbrasor

Rhythmic gymnastics is one of only two Olympic sports that are female-specific. Men do not partake, though there are men’s rhythmic gymnastic competitions outside of the Olympics. (Interestingly, it was Japan that developed the sport for males) This identification of … Continue reading →

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Review: Honeyland

Posted on June 26, 2020 by philipbrasor

The story behind the making of this extraordinary documentary is perhaps even more fascinating than the movie itself. Filmmakers Ljubomir Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska reportedly were looking for a subject in the Republic of North Macedonia and heard about an … Continue reading →

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Review: Thunder Road

Posted on June 24, 2020 by philipbrasor

Jim Cummings’ debut feature comes across as a piece of performance art extended beyond its original parameters, and surprisingly it works at that level consistently throughout its 90 minutes. Extrapolated from an award-winning short subject that has been reconstituted as … Continue reading →

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Review: The Current War

Posted on June 21, 2020 by philipbrasor

As laser-focused historical movies go, Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s take on the rivalry between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse over who would build the first electricity grid in the U.S. has an immediately appealing hook in that electricity is something we take … Continue reading →

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Review: House of Hummingbird

Posted on June 20, 2020 by philipbrasor

In a year when world movie fans finally woke up to the consistent brilliance of Korean cinema through the vehicle of Parasite, it should probably be noted that in South Korea itself the movie that vied with Parasite in 2019 … Continue reading →

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Review: Adrift

Posted on June 19, 2020 by philipbrasor

Romantic melodramas adapted from real-life incidents can often feel doubly phony, since the viewer’s consciosness that these things really happened makes the contrivances feel all the more stagey. Adrift, which is adapted from a memoir by Tami Oldham, has a … Continue reading →

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Review: Luce

Posted on June 18, 2020 by philipbrasor

Julius Onah’s 2019 American film, based on a play by J.C. Lee (who wrote the screenplay with Onah), proves, if anything, that Hollywood and its lesser lights are not afraid to address thorny issues for the sake of provocation. Luce, … Continue reading →

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Review: Vox Lux

Posted on June 17, 2020 by philipbrasor

Caveat to Sia fans: Don’t go see Vox Lux just because you want to hear your idol’s compositions. The movie does end with an extended concert sequence featuring several Sia songs written expressly for the movie, and they’re not bad, … Continue reading →

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Review: The Dead Don’t Die

Posted on June 16, 2020 by philipbrasor

Without a doubt, zombies are the prime pop culture metaphor of our age, distilling the idea of a population zapped out on consumerism down to deadeyed cannibalism. Jim Jarmusch’s comedy is clearly in on the joke and while portions zip … Continue reading →

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