Category Archives: Movies

Review: Green Night

Posted on January 18, 2024 by philipbrasor

Chinese director Han Shuai’s first movie, 2020’s coming-of-age story, Summer Blur, was such a big worldwide festival hit that programmers and distributors have been maneuvering ever since to be advantageously positioned when the followup finally dropped. In that regard, Green … Continue reading →

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Review: Beyond Utopia

Posted on January 12, 2024 by philipbrasor

Madeleine Gavin’s movie about North Korean defectors, which has been shortlisted for this year’s Documentary Feature Oscar, is custom-made for controversy. Though many Western critics have praised its verité take on the defection process and unflinching depiction of NK regime … Continue reading →

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Review: A Light Never Goes Out

Posted on January 11, 2024 by philipbrasor

Nostalgia, as in the longing for something lost, takes on a double meaning in Anastasia Tsang’s debut feature. On the surface, the thing lost is the craft of neon sign-making, which the film’s protagonist, Heung, played by veteran Hong Kong … Continue reading →

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Review: 20,000 Species of Bees

Posted on January 5, 2024 by philipbrasor

The topicality of the Spanish film 20,000 Species of Bees is its main selling point, but focusing on its LGBTQ themes does it a disservice. Set in the Basque Country during the summer, the story centers on 8-year-old Aitor (Sofía … Continue reading →

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Review: Concrete Utopia

Posted on January 4, 2024 by philipbrasor

Um Tae-hwa’s disaster movie was South Korea’s official submission for this year’s International Oscar. It didn’t make the shortlist, and it’s easy to see why. Concrete Utopia plays like a genre movie, which normally don’t rate with Academy members. So … Continue reading →

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Best Movies 2023

Posted on December 27, 2023 by philipbrasor

Owing to Japanese distributors’ habit of taking their time to promote overseas releases, foreign films often don’t show up in theaters here until well after they’ve shown up elsewhere. This trend was exacerbated by COVID and thus I figure more … Continue reading →

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Review: Perfect Days

Posted on December 22, 2023 by philipbrasor

Wim Wenders’ ode to everyday wonder works best when its protagonist (Koji Yakusho), who could have been named Analog Man without raising anyone’s eyebrow rather than Hirayama, is simply going about his business, whether its cleaning the very stylish public … Continue reading →

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Review: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

Posted on December 21, 2023 by philipbrasor

As a series, the Hunger Games movie tetralogy had one thing going for it that made it impossible to dismiss: The unrelenting cruelty of the whole concept of the titular games. And while I wasn’t completely convinced that the Armageddon-like … Continue reading →

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Review: First Cow and Showing Up

Posted on December 20, 2023 by philipbrasor

Though Kelly Reichardt‘s films have been screened for special programs and festivals in Japan and are available online through streaming service U-Next, none have ever received a proper theatrical release until now, when we get her two most recent features … Continue reading →

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Review: What’s Love Got to Do With It?

Posted on December 16, 2023 by philipbrasor

Pardon me if I think the title of this British movie is a terrible idea. The first thing that will occur to many people is that Tina Turner song, and they will thus assume it’s about domestic violence. When they … Continue reading →

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