Category Archives: Movies

May 2012 movies

Posted on April 25, 2012 by philipbrasor

Here are the movie reviews I wrote for the May issue of EL Magazine, which is being distributed in Tokyo today. Bad Teacher The similarities between this poor-taste comedy and the more recent Young Adult are mostly circumstantial: glamorous box … Continue reading →

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April 2012 movies

Posted on March 24, 2012 by philipbrasor

Here are the movie reviews I wrote for the April issue of EL Magazine, which will be distributed in Tokyo tomorrow. The Artist The general opinion about this Oscar-winning, French-produced homage to Hollywood is that it gets by on sincerity. … Continue reading →

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Happy to be a tourist: What Michelle Williams doesn’t know about Marilyn

Posted on March 17, 2012 by philipbrasor

These days most of the Tokyo press conferences for Hollywood movie stars take place in Roppongi at either the Midtown Ritz-Carlton or Roppongi Hills Hyatt, which is good because it saves me the trouble of trucking out and up to … Continue reading →

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Diplomatic: Meryl makes Maggie in Tokyo

Posted on March 8, 2012 by philipbrasor

Considering that Meryl Streep had just won the Oscar a little more than a week before, the Tokyo press coference for The Iron Lady, in which she portrays former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, wasn’t as packed as one would … Continue reading →

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March 2012 movies

Posted on February 26, 2012 by philipbrasor

Here are the movie reviews I wrote for the March 2012 issue of EL Magazine, which was distributed in Tokyo yesterday. Arirang From 1996 to 2008 Kim Ki-duk was the Woody Allen of Korean cinema, putting out a movie every … Continue reading →

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February 2012 movies

Posted on February 1, 2012 by philipbrasor

Here are the movie reviews I wrote for the Feb. issue of EL Magazine, which was distributed in Tokyo last week. Beginners Personality crises are notoriously difficult to depict on film, which is why older directors didn’t bother to do … Continue reading →

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January 2012 movies

Posted on January 2, 2012 by philipbrasor

Here are the movie reviews I wrote for the Jan. issue of EL Magazine. They cover films that were released in Tokyo between late Dec. and mid-Jan. Animal Kingdom The title of Australian director David Michod’s debut feature suggests an … Continue reading →

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Best movies 2011

Posted on December 23, 2011 by philipbrasor

Here are my ten-best-plus movies of the year, which I wrote for the Jan. issue of EL Magazine. All were released in Japan during the 2011 calendar year. Though I saw fewer movies than I did in 2010, I believe … Continue reading →

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Mission accomplishable: Tom Cruise draws a crowd

Posted on December 4, 2011 by philipbrasor

Who’s the biggest movie star today? If you say Tom Cruise or Will Smith, it’s not because they’re the biggest box office draws, but rather because they act like movie stars, and that’s because they love being movie stars. It’s … Continue reading →

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December 2011 movies

Posted on November 29, 2011 by philipbrasor

Here are the movie reviews I wrote for the Dec. issue of EL Magazine, which was distributed in Tokyo on Nov. 25. The movies open in Japan between late Nov. and mid-Dec. The Adventures of Tintin Herge’s boyish Belgian reporter-adventurer … Continue reading →

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