Author Archives: philipbrasor

Review: Memory

Posted on February 19, 2025 by philipbrasor

I’ve only seen two films by the Mexican director Michel Franco, one in Spanish set in Mexico and the other in English set in Southern California; and while I can see why one critic calls him a “shock auteur,” the … Continue reading →

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Review: The Promised Land

Posted on February 15, 2025 by philipbrasor

Historical epics have not gone out of style, but the prerogatives of big, crowd-pleasing stories set in the past have become less refined in the era of the MCU blockbuster, which makes this Danish movie all the more remarkable for … Continue reading →

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Review: September 5 and Captain America: Brave New World

Posted on February 14, 2025 by philipbrasor

Having watched the ABC Sports coverage of the hostage ordeal at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games live while I was in high school, I am surprised after seeing this recreation of the event that the entire thing lasted only 17 … Continue reading →

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Review: The Seed of the Sacred Fig and Troll Factory

Posted on February 13, 2025 by philipbrasor

The Iranian government issued a warrant for the arrest of filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof while he was at Cannes last year, effectively making him another exiled Iranian director, and I imagine he expected such a reaction considering the purport of his … Continue reading →

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Review: Daddio

Posted on February 12, 2025 by philipbrasor

Not sure about what this title refers to. The formal premise is more theatrical than cinematic, but all indications are that the writer-director, Christy Hall, made it expressly for the screen, which means she has to be creative with her … Continue reading →

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Review: The Hyperboreans

Posted on February 8, 2025 by philipbrasor

The Chilean filmmaking team of Cristóbal León and Joaquin Cociña is probably better known outside of Chile for the animated sequences they made for Ari Aster’s Beau Is Afraid than they are for their brilliant 2018 debut animated feature The … Continue reading →

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Review: The Wild Robot

Posted on February 7, 2025 by philipbrasor

Chris Sanders has become the default American animated filmmaker of our present age, and not just because he’s made movies for both Disney and Dreamworks. His themes are generically wholesome while his means of storytelling feels ever more fantastical with … Continue reading →

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Review: Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis)

Posted on February 6, 2025 by philipbrasor

Occasionally film projects come together where the director and the subject are so perfectly matched as to have been designed by God. This documentary about the graphic design house Hipgnosis was made by Anton Corbijn, who has already directed many … Continue reading →

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Media watch: Government refuses to remove names of Korean soldiers from war shrine because that’s just the way it is

Posted on February 5, 2025 by philipbrasor

In the middle of January, Japan’s Supreme Court decided against a lawsuit brought by a Korean family against the Japanese government for refusing to remove the name of their deceased relative, who died in the service of Japan’s emperor during … Continue reading →

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Media watch: Government to punish UN office for having opinion similar to that of Japanese citizenry

Posted on January 31, 2025 by philipbrasor

On Wednesday, Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) held a press conference to announce it would freeze funding for the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which is managed by the United Nations’ Office of the High … Continue reading →

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