Monthly Archives: July 2023

Media watch: Hiroshima native recalls fleeing the horror of the bomb only to end up in the middle of another war

Posted on July 31, 2023 by philipbrasor

For Japanese media, August is traditionally the month of war and remembrance, since Japan gave up the fight on August 15, six days after the U.S. dropped its second atomic bomb on a Japanese city. Regardless of your opinion as … Continue reading →

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Review: Rudeboy, the Story of Trojan Records

Posted on July 29, 2023 by philipbrasor

As fascinating as this docudrama about the legendary London-based indie label is, it necessarily leaves a whole lot out of the history of Jamaican music, which was the specialty of Trojan Records. Director Nicolas Jack Davies, a music video producer, … Continue reading →

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Review: The Kingdom Exodus

Posted on July 28, 2023 by philipbrasor

The story goes that Lars von Trier came up with the idea for his bizarre Danish TV show, The Kingdom, which ran for two 4-episode seasons in 1994 and 1997, after watching Twin Peaks, which makes perfect sense. Just as … Continue reading →

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Media watch: Prosecutor implies false accusation is just part of the job

Posted on July 25, 2023 by philipbrasor

The long legal saga of the government’s case against equipment manufacturer Okawara Kakoki Co., Ltd. has turned into a stark illustration of how Japan’s law enforcement agents work within a bubble of self-justification. At present, two of the company’s executives, … Continue reading →

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Review: Mission:Impossible-Dead Reckoning Part One

Posted on July 21, 2023 by philipbrasor

I certainly can’t be the first film writer to notice a connection between the meta subtext of the new M:I installment and the dual labor strikes currently blocking Hollywood productions, and it has nothing to do with Tom Cruise’s semi-scab … Continue reading →

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Review: Chess Story (The Royal Game)

Posted on July 20, 2023 by philipbrasor

Film adaptations of fiction that plays with form and structure offer unique challenges, and while I haven’t read the Stefan Zweig bestseller on which Chess Story is based, there are enough odd, disconcerting turns to the development to make me … Continue reading →

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Review: Saint Omer

Posted on July 14, 2023 by philipbrasor

There is a scene near the beginning of Saint Omer that suggests why director Alice Diop chose to render this tale, based on a real incident and a real trial, as a fiction film rather than as a documentary, which … Continue reading →

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Review: Close

Posted on July 13, 2023 by philipbrasor

I can’t remember where, but I once read an article that said our first realization of our place in the world comes when we experience loss. The two protagonists of Belgian director Lukas Dhont’s Oscar-nominated feature are old enough that … Continue reading →

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Review: The Pope’s Exorcist

Posted on July 12, 2023 by philipbrasor

Though The Pope’s Exorcist is not a particularly good movie, it’s a fitting vehicle for Russell Crowe’s return to top billing, albeit one in which he appears grey-bearded and paunchy. As the titular priest, Crowe brings a welcome measure of … Continue reading →

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Media watch: Hiroshima sister park agreement angers atomic bomb survivors

Posted on July 10, 2023 by philipbrasor

Sister city relations between municipalities of different countries are familiar to most people, though sometimes these arrangements have a specific purpose. Apparently, in 2016 there was a sister-type relationship forged between the Sekigahara battlefield in Gifu Prefecture, where General Toyotomi … Continue reading →

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