Author Archives: philipbrasor

Media watch: New tax plan’s acceptance in doubt because no one understands its real effects

Posted on November 17, 2024 by philipbrasor

The Democratic Party for the People (DPP) did well in the recent general election, increasing the number of seats it held in the lower house from 7 to 28 (11 constituent + 17 proportional). The party with the most number … Continue reading →

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Review: Gladiator II

Posted on November 15, 2024 by philipbrasor

Though I don’t expect much hard history when I take in a historical drama, I always appreciate it more if I leave it knowing more about the past than I did going in. Ridley Scott’s latest epic, a long-simmering sequel … Continue reading →

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Review: The Devil’s Deal

Posted on November 14, 2024 by philipbrasor

Cynical to the point of nihilism, this 2023 Korean box office hit is touted as a political thriller, though it’s really just another bloody gangster fable that happens to take place against the background of the 1992 general election. Politics … Continue reading →

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Review: Weekend Rebels

Posted on November 13, 2024 by philipbrasor

The latest in a series of German movies on the theme of neuro-divergency was a box office hit in its native land, and it’s easy to see why. Clearly a mainstream effort, Weekend Rebels is based on a popular blog-turned-bestseller … Continue reading →

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Media watch: Three countries stake their claim on Okinawa

Posted on November 9, 2024 by philipbrasor

Our column this month in the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan’s Number 1 Shimbun is about the government purposely neglecting to report two sexual crimes allegedly perpetrated by U.S. military personnel stationed on Okinawa to the Okinawa prefectural government. The … Continue reading →

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Review: The Animal Kingdom

Posted on November 8, 2024 by philipbrasor

I already started having problems with the premise of this horror-fantasy in the first minutes, despite how masterfully conceived the opening scene is. A father, Francois (Romain Duris), and his teenage son, Emile (Paul Kircher), are sitting in a Paris … Continue reading →

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Review: Robot Dreams

Posted on November 7, 2024 by philipbrasor

Straightforwardly a film about loneliness and the search for connection, Pablo Berger’s animated feature, based on a graphic novel by Sara Varon, eschews dialogue for a rich sound design that complements its colorful, densely built 2D visuals. The setting is … Continue reading →

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Tokyo International Film Festival 2024

Posted on November 5, 2024 by philipbrasor

Here are links to the articles I wrote for this year’s TIFF website. Thanks to Karen Severns and Fumi Kawakubo. Or Utopia Q&A She Taught Me Serendipity Q&A TIFF Lounge: Payal Kapadia and Hirokazu Kore-eda The Englishman’s Papers Q&A Lust … Continue reading →

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Review: Gondola

Posted on November 1, 2024 by philipbrasor

The German director Veit Helmer is famous for shooting movies in Eastern Europe and Western Asia, though the locations seem to have less to do with thematic settings than with convenience. His latest is set in Georgia, and in interviews … Continue reading →

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Media watch: NHK gets flak for its special about the Johnny Kitagawa scandal

Posted on October 27, 2024 by philipbrasor

Japan’s public broadcaster, NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corp.), has announced that it will resume hiring talent from the entertainment agency formerly known as Johnny & Associates, whose late founder, Johnny Kitagawa, had been accused of sexually abusing more than a hundred … Continue reading →

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