Monthly Archives: January 2022

Review: Monk/Monk in Europe

Posted on January 16, 2022 by philipbrasor

These two hour-long documentaries by Michael Blackwood, filmed in a verite style, follow the jazz pianist Thelonious Monk during several concert and recording stints in the U.S. and then Europe in 1967. There is no narration, and much of the … Continue reading →

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Review: The Day I Died: Unclosed Case

Posted on January 15, 2022 by philipbrasor

South Korean cinema has perfected the police procedural owing mainly to Bong Joon-ho’s Memories of Murder (still his best, I think), which set the bar very high at a crucial time when Korean directors were coming into their own internationally. … Continue reading →

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Review: House of Gucci

Posted on January 14, 2022 by philipbrasor

Given that the elaborate set piece which sets the extravagant mood for this highly stylized retelling of the fall of the Gucci fashion brand is a wedding where everyone sports comically distinctive Italian accents, it’s tempting to approach Ridley Scott’s … Continue reading →

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Review: Cry Macho

Posted on January 13, 2022 by philipbrasor

Though Clint Eastwood has never officially stated when he plans to retire as a director, it seems to be that he once said something about leaving acting behind, but I may have imagined that. In any event, having entered his … Continue reading →

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Media watch: NHK takes a bullet for the official Olympics documentary

Posted on January 11, 2022 by philipbrasor

On December 26, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK aired a special program on its BS1 satellite channel about the making of the official documentary for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, which is being directed by Nara-based filmmaker Naomi Kawase. One … Continue reading →

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Media watch: Puppy mill violations point up weak animal welfare laws

Posted on January 9, 2022 by philipbrasor

Japan tends to go through intense phases with regard to popular breeds of pet dogs. About 50-60 years ago it was the spitz, and 20-30 years ago you couldn’t pass a dog run without stumbling over a dozen or so … Continue reading →

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Review: Spider-Man: No Way Home

Posted on January 7, 2022 by philipbrasor

The mind-boggling box office success of the latest Spider-Man installment during another surge in the pandemic only goes to prove that there’s no such thing as too much Spider-Man, and while some will point to the MCU imprimatur as being … Continue reading →

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Media watch: Sperm “donor” sued for lying on his application

Posted on January 4, 2022 by philipbrasor

In late 2020, the Japanese government passed a law that recognizes married couples who have children via donated sperm and eggs as being the legal parents of those children. The law would go into effect in one year’s time, meaning, … Continue reading →

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Best Movies 2021

Posted on January 3, 2022 by philipbrasor

For the second year in a row I have decided to forego a ten best list, since I didn’t see nearly enough of the movies released in Japan in 2021 to make any sort of authoritative judgment on which were … Continue reading →

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Media watch: Citizens groups seek truth about 1923 post-quake killings

Posted on January 2, 2022 by philipbrasor

September 1, 2023, will mark the 100th year anniversary of the Great Kanto Earthquake, which struck Tokyo and surrounding areas, killing more than 140,000 people. In the days that followed, an additional number of Korean residents of the affected areas … Continue reading →

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