Author Archives: philipbrasor

April 2012 movies

Posted on March 24, 2012 by philipbrasor

Here are the movie reviews I wrote for the April issue of EL Magazine, which will be distributed in Tokyo tomorrow. The Artist The general opinion about this Oscar-winning, French-produced homage to Hollywood is that it gets by on sincerity. … Continue reading →

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Media Mix, Mar. 18, 2012

Posted on March 18, 2012 by philipbrasor

Here’s this week’s Media Mix, which is about earthquake insurance. At the end of the second paragraph I mention that the number of policy holders has tripled since last year’s Great East Japan Earthquake, but that’s a misleading statement. Actually, … Continue reading →

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Happy to be a tourist: What Michelle Williams doesn’t know about Marilyn

Posted on March 17, 2012 by philipbrasor

These days most of the Tokyo press conferences for Hollywood movie stars take place in Roppongi at either the Midtown Ritz-Carlton or Roppongi Hills Hyatt, which is good because it saves me the trouble of trucking out and up to … Continue reading →

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Diplomatic: Meryl makes Maggie in Tokyo

Posted on March 8, 2012 by philipbrasor

Considering that Meryl Streep had just won the Oscar a little more than a week before, the Tokyo press coference for The Iron Lady, in which she portrays former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, wasn’t as packed as one would … Continue reading →

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Mar. 2012 albums

Posted on March 1, 2012 by philipbrasor

Here are the album reviews I wrote for the March issue of EL Magazine, which was distributed in Tokyo earlier this week. Le voyage dans la lune -Air (Virgin/EMI) The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo -Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross … Continue reading →

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March 2012 movies

Posted on February 26, 2012 by philipbrasor

Here are the movie reviews I wrote for the March 2012 issue of EL Magazine, which was distributed in Tokyo yesterday. Arirang From 1996 to 2008 Kim Ki-duk was the Woody Allen of Korean cinema, putting out a movie every … Continue reading →

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Media Mix, Feb. 19, 2012

Posted on February 19, 2012 by philipbrasor

Here’s this week’s Media Mix, which is about changing attitudes toward hospital care for terminal patients. In the column I only used the statistics I needed, but the issue is quite interesting in what it says about the government’s approach … Continue reading →

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Anniversaries

Posted on February 8, 2012 by philipbrasor

Today is the 30th anniversary of the Hotel New Japan fire, which killed 33 people. It is also my 30th wedding anniversary. Here is an excerpt from a letter I wrote to a friend some years ago describing that day. … Continue reading →

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February 2012 albums

Posted on February 3, 2012 by philipbrasor

Here are the album reviews I wrote for the February issue of EL Magazine, which was distributed in Tokyo last week. The Dreamer/The Believer -Common (Warner) Freedom of Speech -Speech Debelle (Big Dada/Beat) Several times on Common’s new album, the … Continue reading →

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February 2012 movies

Posted on February 1, 2012 by philipbrasor

Here are the movie reviews I wrote for the Feb. issue of EL Magazine, which was distributed in Tokyo last week. Beginners Personality crises are notoriously difficult to depict on film, which is why older directors didn’t bother to do … Continue reading →

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