Author Archives: philipbrasor

Review: Emmanuelle

Posted on January 10, 2025 by philipbrasor

Because Audrey Diwan directed Happening, a movie that honestly addressed abortion, it’s likely her remake of the 1974 softcore classic, which launched countless sequels and copies, will be described as a feminist take on the subject; but even if it … Continue reading →

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Review: Formed Police Unit

Posted on January 9, 2025 by philipbrasor

Sometimes the background of a movie is more interesting than the movie itself. This action blockbuster about a Chinese UN peacekeeping force sent to a wartorn African country had its shooting schedule extended about half a year after its star, … Continue reading →

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Number 1 Shimbun, January 2025

Posted on January 4, 2025 by philipbrasor

Here’s our latest article for the FCCJ, which is about the Korean response to Japan’s newest World Cultural Heritage site.

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Review: Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry

Posted on January 3, 2025 by philipbrasor

The character of Etero (Eka Chavleishvili) is familiar in a literary way. A single woman in her late 40s whose life has been in service to the males in her family, specifically an older brother and a widowed father who … Continue reading →

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Review: The Beekeeper

Posted on January 2, 2025 by philipbrasor

Director David Ayer should have checked out some Korean revenge flicks before taking on this Jason Statham vehicle. The Koreans have produced hundreds if not thousands and in the process had to think up new and more interesting reasons for … Continue reading →

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Best Albums 2024

Posted on December 30, 2024 by philipbrasor

After way too much consideration, I finally pared my shortlist of good albums down to a manageable top 10 and then some, a development that would seem to suggest there was a surfeit of great music this year. I’m not … Continue reading →

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Best Movies 2024

Posted on December 29, 2024 by philipbrasor

The three people who follow my movie reviewing exploits will notice an odd difference in this year’s best-of list: two-count-’em-two Japanese films. As I’ve written before, though I live in Japan I don’t see as many Japanese films as I … Continue reading →

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Review: Vision of Makhmalbaf

Posted on December 28, 2024 by philipbrasor

Mohsen Makhmalbaf left his native Iran in 2005 and has since established the Makhmalbaf Film House in London, where he produces his own movies and those of his wife, Marziyeh Meshkini, his daughters, Samira and Hana, and his son, Maysam. … Continue reading →

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Review: Occupied City

Posted on December 27, 2024 by philipbrasor

Award-winning filmmaker and visual artist Steve McQueen interweaves a variety of cinematic approaches into his documentary tapestry of Amsterdam during the Nazi occupation of 1940-45. Based on the book Atlas of an Occupied City by Bianca Stigter, who is married … Continue reading →

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Media watch: SAS response to flight attendant’s plea transcends “customer service”

Posted on December 23, 2024 by philipbrasor

‘Tis the season, as they say, and in that light we thought we’d offer something positive in this space for a change, and where better to look in the Japanese media than Asahi Shimbun’s Mado column, which usually covers heartwarming … Continue reading →

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