Category Archives: Movies

Review: Book Club

Posted on December 19, 2020 by philipbrasor

In a time when going to the movies is considered by many an endeavor fraught with peril, the choices made by Japanese distributors and movie houses invite extra scrutiny. Here we have a frivolous American romantic comedy originally released in … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Far From Heaven

Posted on December 12, 2020 by philipbrasor

I am slowly adding reviews to this blog that I wrote for the Japan Times and the Asahi Shimbun in the 90s and early 00s and which are not currently on the web. This review from the Asahi was published … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Review: Tezuka’s Barbara

Posted on November 21, 2020 by philipbrasor

Macoto Tezka’s live action movie version of his father Osamu Tezuka’s early 70s adult manga combines pastiche and originality in a way that’s dramatically stimulating without being particularly memorable. The original comic’s outrageousness was a function of its time and … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Review: About Endlessness

Posted on November 20, 2020 by philipbrasor

Swedish director Roy Andersson’s gift, if you can call it that, is how perfectly he envisions existence, a trait that’s interpolated cinematically as meticulously blocked scenes, uniformly stark lighting, and little if no camera movement. The mood is minimalist black … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged | Leave a comment

TIFF 2020

Posted on November 9, 2020 by philipbrasor

Here are the articles about the movies and events I covered for the 33rd Tokyo International Film Festival home page. “Possessor“ “Ora, Ora Be Goin’ Alone“ “The Last Bath“ “TiTi“ “Come and Go“ Asia Lounge with Tsai Ming-liang “The Old … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Leave a comment

BIFF 2020: Oct. 30

Posted on October 30, 2020 by philipbrasor

The 25th Busan International Film Festival ended today and, as usual, the press office sent me a final report. Total attendance at offline screenings came to 20,135, or 92 percent of capacity, which is surprising given that there was only … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Leave a comment

BIFF 2020: Oct. 29

Posted on October 29, 2020 by philipbrasor

I didn’t intend to watch the Japanese contribution to Window On Asian Cinema, Ora, Ora Be Goin’ Alone, a World Premiere, because I was asked to write about it for the English web page of the Tokyo International Film Festival … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Leave a comment

Review: Destroyer

Posted on October 24, 2020 by philipbrasor

“High-concept” is a term used to describe Hollywood projects that are based on extremely easy-to-grasp ideas that have little to do with story or production values. They’re more like riffs on traditional genre tropes: zombies on Mars, say, or Shakespeare … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged | Leave a comment

Review: Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and the Band

Posted on October 23, 2020 by philipbrasor

The title tells you right off the bat what you’re getting into with this supposedly definitive documentary about The Band: Robbie’s version, which has been contentious for years owing to how much drummer/singer/nominal frontman Levon Helm resented his post-breakup stewardship, … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Leave a comment

Review: The Wild Goose Lake

Posted on September 25, 2020 by philipbrasor

Mainland Chinese cinema was relatively late to film noir, especially in relation to Hong Kong and other Asian countries like South Korea, Japan, and the Philippines, all of which have reshaped the genre in distinctive ways. But once a younger … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Leave a comment