Monthly Archives: February 2023

A stretch of Pavement

Posted on February 15, 2023 by philipbrasor

Pavement are in Japan at the moment. I will not attend any of their shows, though I did the last several times there were in these parts and have dug out a concert review I wrote for the Japan Times … Continue reading →

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Review: Mass

Posted on February 11, 2023 by philipbrasor

One of the classic challenges for filmmakers is to take a story that was written for the stage and “open it up” for the screen. There are a variety of ways to do this, but it mostly involves creating a … Continue reading →

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Review: Compartment No. 6

Posted on February 10, 2023 by philipbrasor

I’m embarrassed to admit that it wasn’t until about 30 minutes into Juho Kuosmanen’s film about a Finnish student traveling by train from Moscow to the Arctic Circle—which won the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2021—that I realized it was … Continue reading →

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Review: Egoist

Posted on February 9, 2023 by philipbrasor

Serendipity can come in various forms. Daishi Matsunaga’s new movie about a homosexual relationship arrives in theaters a week after Japan’s ruling party embarrassed itself by saying the public (read: the ruling party) isn’t ready for same sex marriage, and … Continue reading →

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Review: Babylon

Posted on February 8, 2023 by philipbrasor

In a very short time Damien Chazelle has staked his claim as Hollywood’s primary exemplar of entertainment-themed entertainment. That Neil Armstrong bio-fantasy was the exception that proved the rule, since it didn’t make as much of an impression as his … Continue reading →

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Review: Fall

Posted on February 4, 2023 by philipbrasor

High concept cinema, meaning movies premised on a single, simple, vivid idea, is really all about the setup, since the concept itself isn’t going to work unless the viewer is given some reason to care about it. In Scott Mann’s … Continue reading →

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Media watch: Prominent pundit linked to husband’s shady business deal

Posted on February 3, 2023 by philipbrasor

On Jan. 20, some news outlets reported that Tokyo prosecutors had raided the offices of an investment company that promotes solar power generation. Though the raid by itself was no big deal—prosecutors carry out raids of companies suspected of business … Continue reading →

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Review: Everything Went Fine

Posted on February 2, 2023 by philipbrasor

If there’s one theme or idea that runs like a bright thread through Francois Ozon’s films is that it’s often tough to be a member of the educated upper classes in France. Occasionally, he has fun with this theme in … Continue reading →

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Number 1 Shimbun February

Posted on February 1, 2023 by philipbrasor

Here is our media column for the February issue of the Number 1 Shimbun, which is about the struggle to find an heir to the Shinzo Abe political dynasty.

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