Author Archives: philipbrasor

Review: Mainstream

Posted on October 8, 2021 by philipbrasor

Though Gia Coppola’s Mainstream presumes to address the way online culture has highjacked culture in general, its flashy, colorful style and pretensions to quick wit reveal an eagerness to appeal to the same kind of jaded sensibilities that the movie … Continue reading →

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Review: Stardust

Posted on October 7, 2021 by philipbrasor

As rock star biopics go, this somewhat fictionalized account of David Bowie’s first trip to the U.S., before he broke big even in the UK, is encouragingly circumscribed, since it addresses only that formative period before the drugs and money … Continue reading →

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Media Mix, Oct. 2, 2021

Posted on October 3, 2021 by philipbrasor

Here’s this week’s Media Mix, which is about bullying and abuse in the South Korean military and Japan’s Self-Defense Forces. As pointed out in the column, all militaries throughout the world have this problem, and though it isn’t necessarily covered … Continue reading →

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Review: Kanarta

Posted on October 2, 2021 by philipbrasor

Akimi Ota, a doctoral candidate at Manchester University in ethnology, made this intimate film when he lived in the Ecuadorean rain forest with the Shuar, a group of native people with their own unique language whose indigenous territory covers a … Continue reading →

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Review: Collective

Posted on October 1, 2021 by philipbrasor

In the past decade-plus, a handful of Romanian directors (Christian Mungiu, Corneliu Porumboiu, etc.) have created a body of dramatic work that is perhaps unmatched in its ability to come to grips with the way official actions (i.e., bureaucratic behavior) … Continue reading →

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Media Mix, Sept. 25, 2021

Posted on September 26, 2021 by philipbrasor

Here’s this week’s Media Mix, which is about Sanae Takaichi’s candidacy for the leadership of the Liberal Democratic Party and, by extension, the prime minister’s office. Since I wrote the column, her chances of achieving that post have increased greatly. … Continue reading →

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Review: Dinner in America

Posted on September 24, 2021 by philipbrasor

There seems to be a certain type of indie film that only premieres at the Sundance Film Festival. Ostensibly black comedies with quirky, often disagreeable protagonists, they usually take place in the US heartland, but what makes these movies distinctive … Continue reading →

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Review: Minamata

Posted on September 23, 2021 by philipbrasor

Probably one of the most fraught American movie releases of recent years, Minamata opens in Japan with its own set of caveats for people interested in both the truths it attempts to address and those who just want to enjoy … Continue reading →

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Review: Reminiscence

Posted on September 18, 2021 by philipbrasor

I slogged through the three seasons of Westworld on pure inertia. Though the basic premise of androids “evolving” self-consciousness and its attendant moral structures wasn’t particularly original, the extended series format gave creator Lisa Joy ample opportunity to explore all … Continue reading →

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Review: Best Friend/Next Door Neighbor

Posted on September 17, 2021 by philipbrasor

Living in Japan, where the treatment of politics and history by popular culture is a fraught undertaking, I find South Korean cinema’s willingness to confront the less edifying aspects of its recent past and current social mores almost astounding. Mainstream … Continue reading →

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