Author Archives: philipbrasor

Media Mix, Feb. 17, 2019

Posted on February 17, 2019 by philipbrasor

Here’s this week’s Media Mix about two instances that appear to demonstrate government attempts to limit journalistic activities. In the case of Tokyo Shimbun reporter Isoko Mochizuki’s dogged questioning style during press conferences at the prime minister’s residence, I mention … Continue reading →

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Review: The Favourite

Posted on February 15, 2019 by philipbrasor

The recent death of Albert Finney revived interest in the movie that first made him a star in the U.S. (he was already a sensation in the U.K. thanks to Karel Reisz). Tom Jones attempted to obliterate the stuffy British … Continue reading →

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Review: Aquaman

Posted on February 11, 2019 by philipbrasor

To anyone who filters the DC Comics cinematic universe through the overwhelming success of the brand’s rival, Marvel Studios, Aquaman the movie is best seen as a reply to the Thor series, which is where Marvel pointedly plays up the … Continue reading →

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Review: First Man

Posted on February 7, 2019 by philipbrasor

Damien Chazelle’s third feature is an oddly circumspect blockbuster. Though this biopic of Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong fits neatly into the big-budget hero stylings of The Right Stuff and Apollo 13, its focus on a character who was basically … Continue reading →

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The Cramps 1998

Posted on February 5, 2019 by philipbrasor

In commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the death of Lux Interior, here is a review I wrote for the Japan Times of a Cramps concert that took place some time in 1998 at Club Citta in Kawasaki, Japan.  The … Continue reading →

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Review: Hannah

Posted on February 4, 2019 by philipbrasor

Thematically and structurally similar to 45 Years, which also starred Charlotte Rampling as the wife of a man who undergoes a startling change in situation, Andrea Pallaoro’s heavily circumscribed character study is less emotionally involving but more evocative. Set in … Continue reading →

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Review: Burning

Posted on February 2, 2019 by philipbrasor

Before he became the most vital director of the Korean film renaissance, Lee Chang-dong was a successful novelist, and the most penetrating aspect of his movies is their unpredictable but nevertheless natural plot developments. In his two best films, Oasis … Continue reading →

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Review: The Front Runner

Posted on February 1, 2019 by philipbrasor

Pardon me if I initially confused Gary Hart with John Edwards. Though the two presidential candidates’ respective career-destroying sex scandals happened almost two decades apart, they tend to blur together in my mind. All those WASPy Democrats look alike, I … Continue reading →

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Review: The Wife

Posted on January 28, 2019 by philipbrasor

Glenn Close’s surprise Golden Globe win for Best Actress in a Drama already pegs Bjorn Runge’s film as a must-see mediocre movie, and, in truth, Close makes it worth your money. As the wife of blowhard writer Joe Castleman (Jonathan … Continue reading →

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Media Mix, Jan. 27, 2019

Posted on January 27, 2019 by philipbrasor

Here’s this week’s Media Mix about the protocol relationship between Japan-Russia negotiations over the Northern Territories and the U.S. base issue in Okinawa. According to writer Koji Yabe, Japan is totally in thrall to the U.S. military and thus cannot … Continue reading →

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