Category Archives: Movies

Review: The Case Against 8

Posted on January 30, 2016 by philipbrasor

Ben Cotner and Ryan White’s documentary, produced for HBO, immediately sets its priorities and its outlook. As the title forcefully suggests, the movie is a polemic against Proposition 8, the California state initiative to repeal legal same sex marriages, and … Continue reading →

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Inerasable (Zan’e)

Posted on January 29, 2016 by philipbrasor

In Japan, real estate agents are by law required to inform potential renters or buyers of murders or suicides that occurred in properties under consideration, though if someone died there of natural causes no one has to say anything. In … Continue reading →

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Review: 5 Flights Up

Posted on January 27, 2016 by philipbrasor

It must be contractually mandated that every movie in which Morgan Freeman appears he has to provide folksy voiceover narration. He does it in this bittersweet domestic drama, though there isn’t a whole lot of need for it. The situation … Continue reading →

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Review: 99 Homes

Posted on January 26, 2016 by philipbrasor

As the Oscar nominations for The Big Short testify, the 2008 economic collapse continues to provide raw meat for heavy-duty dramas, as well as comedies of the blackest sort. 99 Homes gets down to the bone of the matter, since … Continue reading →

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Review: Son of Saul

Posted on January 22, 2016 by philipbrasor

A winner at Cannes and favored contender for the best foreign language film Oscar this year, Laszlo Nemes’s debut feature is both formally audacious and thematically provocative, so much so on both counts that it’s difficult to absorb all the … Continue reading →

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Best movies of 2015

Posted on December 30, 2015 by philipbrasor

I don’t know if I saw fewer movies this year than last or more, and I don’t feel like counting to find out. For sure, there were a few I wanted to see that I didn’t, like Phoenix, which made … Continue reading →

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January 2016 movies

Posted on December 29, 2015 by philipbrasor

Here are the movie reviews I wrote for the January issue of EL Magazine, which was distributed in Tokyo on Christmas Day. About Ray Gaby Dellal’s bittersweet comedy assumes so many edgy POVs that it feels drained of meaning, with … Continue reading →

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December 2015 movies

Posted on December 2, 2015 by philipbrasor

Here are the movie reviews I wrote for the December issue of EL Magazine, which was distributed in Tokyo on November 25. Art and Craft Certain documentaries are premised on stories or personalities so unusual that they practically direct themselves. … Continue reading →

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November 2015 movies

Posted on November 6, 2015 by philipbrasor

Here are the movie reviews I wrote for the November issue of EL Magazine, which was distributed in Tokyo on October 25. American Heist Hayden Christensen and Adrien Brody act their asses off as brothers James and Frank, a pair … Continue reading →

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October 2015 movies

Posted on October 1, 2015 by philipbrasor

Here are the movie reviews I wrote for the October issue of EL Magazine, which was distributed in Tokyo last week. Ant-Man That Green Hornet movie with Seth Rogen was a good idea that didn’t work out as planned. Basically … Continue reading →

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