Author Archives: philipbrasor

Review: Shoplifters

Posted on June 7, 2018 by philipbrasor

It will be interesting to see the reaction in Japan to Hirokazu Kore-eda’s latest film, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes last month. Though Kore-eda has tackled socially relevant topics in the past, most notably in his 2004 shocker … Continue reading →

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Review: Lady Bird

Posted on June 4, 2018 by philipbrasor

Authenticity is fleeting in American teen comedies, even when they shade over into coming-of-age tales. In her autobiographical directing debut, Greta Gerwig is obviously after authenticity above everything else—it’s mainly there in the subversive dialogue—but she’s too experienced as an … Continue reading →

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Review: You Were Never Really Here

Posted on June 2, 2018 by philipbrasor

It’s difficult to grasp what director Lynne Ramsay is trying to accomplish with her new movie. Ostensibly a genre exercise, You Were Never Really Here sketchily outlines the daily grind of a hit man, Joe (Joaquin Phoenix), who specializes in … Continue reading →

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Review: The Death of Louis XIV

Posted on May 30, 2018 by philipbrasor

Recently, Christopher Nolan hailed Stanley Kubrick as the greatest director of all time, mainly for his ability to make nitrate film stock mimic the most sublime visual attributes of great paintings. Though he was thinking of 2001, Barry Lyndon is … Continue reading →

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Review: Isle of Dogs

Posted on May 29, 2018 by philipbrasor

As a long-time resident of Japan whose interaction with the local culture is circumstantial, I don’t believe I have much to add to the conversation that has surrounded Wes Anderson’s latest entertainment and which mostly has to do with whether … Continue reading →

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Review: Phantom Thread

Posted on May 28, 2018 by philipbrasor

In the rarefied setting that informs Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest luxury, the title “fashion designer” seems imprecise when describing the vocation of the protagonist, Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis). He’s a dressmaker. All he makes is fine dresses for fine ladies. … Continue reading →

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Media Mix, May 27, 2018

Posted on May 27, 2018 by philipbrasor

Here’s this week’s Media Mix, about the Government Monitor System, which was shut down several weeks ago after major media finally discovered it and realized that it contained a lot of comments that qualified as hate speech. The moral of … Continue reading →

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Review: All the Money in the World

Posted on May 26, 2018 by philipbrasor

It’s a wonder that the incredible tale of the 1973 kidnapping of oil billionaire J. Paul Getty’s grandson hasn’t been dramatized before (for the record, there is presently a TV series covering the same ground), but as it stands this … Continue reading →

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Review: Oh, Lucy!

Posted on May 11, 2018 by philipbrasor

Atsuko Hirayanagi explores familiar screwball archetypes in her debut feature, and while most have been well presented by other Japanese directors, they’ve never attempted them in a cross-cultural setting. Setsuko (Shinobu Terajima) is an uptight, lonely single woman working a … Continue reading →

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Media Mix, April 22, 2018

Posted on April 22, 2018 by philipbrasor

Here’s this week’s Media Mix about how and why the Finance Ministry protects its own in the face of scandal. Because the FM is considered the most powerful bureaucratic organ in the government, it has a kind of symbiotic relationship … Continue reading →

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