Category Archives: Movies

January 2011 movies

Posted on December 30, 2010 by philipbrasor

Here are the movie reviews I wrote for the January 2011 issue of EL Magazine, which came out on Christmas day. They cover films released in Tokyo between late December and mid-January. Burlesque Postmodernism is dead, according to Burlesque, a … Continue reading →

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Best movies 2010

Posted on December 23, 2010 by philipbrasor

Here is my list of ten-best-movies-plus that comes out in EL Magazine this week. It was a disappointing year. The pickings were slim because, on the one hand, movies are getting worse and, on the other, Japanese distributors are handling … Continue reading →

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Great moments in iconicness: Christina Aguilera and the “Burlesque” crew hit Tokyo

Posted on December 10, 2010 by philipbrasor

The purposes of a movie press conference are crystal clear but not always easy to accomplish. Journalists want witty and revealing quotes while the cast and staff want to convey what’s appealing about the film without pointing to themselves as … Continue reading →

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Seriousness and innocence: A chat with Apichatpong Weerasethakul

Posted on December 1, 2010 by philipbrasor

It’s easy to understand why Apichatpong Weerasethakul‘s latest film, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, was chosen as the opening movie for the latest Tokyo Filmex. It was the Palme D’or winner at Cannes in May, which shouldn’t … Continue reading →

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December 2010 movies

Posted on November 27, 2010 by philipbrasor

Here are the movie reviews I wrote for the December issue of EL Magazine, which came out yesterday. They cover films released in Tokyo between late November and mid-December. Titles without opening dates have already been released. Amelia Mira Nair’s … Continue reading →

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Needs more blue: Russell Crowe in Tokyo

Posted on November 25, 2010 by philipbrasor

The last time Russell Crowe came to Japan, eight years ago to promote A Beautiful Mind, he was dressed like a slumming indie rocker (he was still fronting that band, Thirty Odd Foot Of Grunts) and chain-smoking on the dais. … Continue reading →

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Be my friend: Selling “The Social Network” to Japan

Posted on November 19, 2010 by philipbrasor

When Aaron Sorkin and Jesse Eisenberg came to Japan earlier this month to attend the Tokyo International Film Festival, whose opening film was The Social Network, which Sorkin wrote and Eisenberg stars in, they hung around and did a press … Continue reading →

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TIFF, the interviews

Posted on November 7, 2010 by philipbrasor

The Tokyo International Film Festival ended a week ago, and the publicity department has finally posted all four of my interviews on their website. These were done specifically for the festival, which means they chose the subjects, not I. Except … Continue reading →

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The end

Posted on October 27, 2010 by philipbrasor

Seems like a good idea to start with an ending. Yesterday I signed off on my last movie reviews for the Asahi Shimbun/International Herald Tribune, for which I’d written since 1996. This, in fact, is the second time I’ve been … Continue reading →

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