Tag Archives: Scarlett Johansson

Review: Jurassic World: Rebirth

Posted on August 8, 2025 by philipbrasor

I’ve never expected coherence from the Jurassic franchise, and the 7th installment didn’t challenge those expectations at all, though its development is at least linear. Whatever associations its story has with past chapters either don’t exist or flew over my … Continue reading →

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Review: Despicable Me 4 and Fly Me to the Moon

Posted on July 19, 2024 by philipbrasor

The Despicable Me franchise just became the most successful animation series ever, box office-wise, which is only believable given inflation and the fact that I assume the franchise includes the Minions-focused films. In any case, resistance is futile, and the … Continue reading →

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Review: Asteroid City

Posted on August 31, 2023 by philipbrasor

At this point, what’s most impressive about Wes Anderson’s movies is how quickly he makes them. Woody Allen used to be the fastest auteur in the world not named Hong Sangsoo, but Allen’s films were simple in the first place, … Continue reading →

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Review: Jojo Rabbit

Posted on January 17, 2020 by philipbrasor

Director Taika Waititi sincerely tries to hedge his bets with his Oscar-nominated Nazi comedy by labeling it right off the bat as an “anti-hate satire,” which, of course, gives the impression that the New Zealand director, not-so-fresh off the success … Continue reading →

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Review: Isle of Dogs

Posted on May 29, 2018 by philipbrasor

As a long-time resident of Japan whose interaction with the local culture is circumstantial, I don’t believe I have much to add to the conversation that has surrounded Wes Anderson’s latest entertainment and which mostly has to do with whether … Continue reading →

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April 2017 movies

Posted on April 1, 2017 by philipbrasor

Here are the movie reviews I wrote for the April issue of EL Magazine, which was distributed in Tokyo on March 25. Captain Fantastic Road trips vivify the great American indie movie, and while Matt Ross’s feature is light as … Continue reading →

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September 2014 movies

Posted on August 30, 2014 by philipbrasor

Here are the movie reviews I wrote for the September issue of EL Magazine, which was distributed in Tokyo last week. Broken Korean crime movies appropriate a cartoonish male brutality that can be tiring, but this thriller by Lee Jung-ho … Continue reading →

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