Author Archives: philipbrasor

Media Mix, April 2, 2017

Posted on April 2, 2017 by philipbrasor

Here is this week’s Media Mix, which is about the unofficial “Nippon Sugoi!” campaign. “Nippon Sugoi!” is usually translated as “Great Japan!”, though I think “Amazing Japan!” is closer to the vernacular meaning, since “sugoi!” is so commonly used as … Continue reading →

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April 2017 movies

Posted on April 1, 2017 by philipbrasor

Here are the movie reviews I wrote for the April issue of EL Magazine, which was distributed in Tokyo on March 25. Captain Fantastic Road trips vivify the great American indie movie, and while Matt Ross’s feature is light as … Continue reading →

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Media Mix, March 19, 2017

Posted on March 19, 2017 by philipbrasor

Here’s this week’s Media Mix about the press’s inability—or unwillingness—to question the government’s rush to repopulate the evacuation zone around the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear facility. Of the examples I gave of media who have questioned this move, Mako Oshidori’s … Continue reading →

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Lou Reed/Yo La Tengo, Oct. 2000

Posted on February 24, 2017 by philipbrasor

I recently realized that almost all of the music reviews I wrote for the Japan Times in the 90s and the movie reviews I wrote for the Asahi Shimbun during the same decade are not available on the Internet, so … Continue reading →

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February 2017 albums

Posted on February 17, 2017 by philipbrasor

Here are the album reviews I wrote for the February issue of EL Magazine, which was distributed in Tokyo last month. Oczy Mlody -The Flaming Lips (Warner) Cuidado Madame -Arto Lindsay (P-Vine) Though the Flaming Lips are deservedly famous for … Continue reading →

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Media Mix, Feb. 5, 2017

Posted on February 5, 2017 by philipbrasor

Here’s this week’s Media Mix, which is about that infamous Tokyo MXTV program, “News Joshi,” and its Jan. 2 segment slamming the anti-helipad protests in Okinawa. At the end of the piece I mentioned Yukihiro Hasegawa, the emcee of the … Continue reading →

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February 2017 movies

Posted on February 2, 2017 by philipbrasor

Here are the movie reviews I wrote for the February issue of EL Magazine, which was distributed in Tokyo last week. Allied A return to the “real romances” that were so central to Hollywood’s primacy in the 40s, Robert Zemeckis’s … Continue reading →

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Media Mix, Jan. 29, 2017

Posted on January 29, 2017 by philipbrasor

Here’s this week’s Media Mix, about the aging population in Japan’s prison system and the media’s role in keeping inmates in jail longer. One aspect of the issue that I didn’t explain in enough detail was what happens to ex-convicts, … Continue reading →

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“Adaptation” Aug. 2003

Posted on January 27, 2017 by philipbrasor

I recently realized that almost all of the movie reviews I wrote for the Asahi Shimbun in the 90s and early 00s are not available on the Internet, so I will remedy that by slowly, methodically posting them here on my blog. … Continue reading →

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Best albums 2016

Posted on January 1, 2017 by philipbrasor

If 2015 was the year of Black Lives Matter, then 2016 was the year Black Lives Matters mattered, since the meaning of the movement—recognizing that conditioned racism not only still existed, but continued to have a deadly impact—was borne out … Continue reading →

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