Economy | ANALYSIS
Households to take hit from tax hike
by Tomoko Otake
The consumption tax increase will hit every household in Japan hard, with many people’s financial future hanging on whether their wages rise enough to offset the hike's impact.
Film Topics
Small Screen Sep 26, 2013
'Kokuriko-zaka Kara (From Up on Poppy Hill)'
by Mark Schilling
Director: Goro Miyazaki Language: Japanese (dubbed/subtitled in English) Studio Ghibli has released the U.K. Blu-ray and DVD of Goro Miyazaki’s 2011 animation “Kokuriko-zaka Kara (From Up on Poppy Hill).” Co-scripted by Hayao Miyazaki, the film is a nostalgic period piece about the campaign by ...
Small Screen Sep 26, 2013
Iron Man 3
by Giovanni Fazio
Director: Shane Black Language: English I’ll take my Robert Downey Jr. however it’s served, and if it comes in a can, well, so be it. This third installment in what seems like one of a gazillion Marvel franchises doubles down on everything: This should ...
Small Screen Sep 26, 2013
Farinelli (Castrato)
by Kaori Shoji
Director: Gerard Corbiau Language: French, Italian (subtitled in Japanese) A golden oldie from 1994, “Farinelli” traces the life and times of 18th-century Italian singer Carlo Broschi (Stefano Dionisi), who was castrated in childhood to preserve his angelic voice and went on to a brilliant ...
Small Screen Sep 12, 2013
'Minnasan, Sayonara! (See You Tomorrow, Everyone)'
by Mark Schilling
Director: Yoshihiro Nakamura Language: Japanese (subtitled in English) On Oct. 14, Third Window Films (U.K.) will release an English-subbed DVD of Yoshihiro Nakamura’s “Minnasan, Sayonara! (See You Tomorrow, Everyone).” Starring Gaku Hamada as a boy who vows to spend his life in his Tokyo ...
Small Screen Sep 12, 2013
'Paranorman'
by Giovanni Fazio
Directors: Chris Butler, Sam Fell Language: English Oregon’s Laika stop-motion studio follows up 2009′s excellent “Coraline.” Eleven-year-old Norman can talk to the spirits, but when he warns that a long-dead witch is coming back for revenge, people just think it’s freak-boy trippin’ out, so ...
Small Screen Sep 12, 2013
'Suits'
by Kaori Shoji
Director: Various Language: English “Suits,” the 2011 TV series, is now available for rental. Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams) is a brilliant but feckless young college dropout who runs from the scene of a botched drug deal and is miraculously picked up by New ...
Small Screen Sep 5, 2013
'Arrow'
by Kaori Shoji
Director: Various Language: English The Dark Knight isn’t the only DC Comics hero with abs to die for — get ready to swoon over the 2012 TV series “Arrow” starring smokin’ Hollywood stud Stephen Amell. He plays a billionaire who returns from five years ...
Small Screen Sep 5, 2013
'Kibo no Kuni (The Land of Hope)'
by Mark Schilling
Director: Sion Sono Language: Japanese (subtitled in English) On Aug. 26, Third Window Films of the U.K. released a DVD and Blu-ray of “Kibo no Kuni (The Land of Hope),” Sion Sono’s drama about two families caught up in a near-future nuclear catastrophe that ...
Small Screen Sep 5, 2013
'Dark Horse'
by Giovanni Fazio
Director: Todd Solondz Language: English Todd Solondz is known for bringing a host of uncomfortable characters and situations to the screen — first prize is probably Philip Seymour Hoffman’s obscene phone caller in “Happiness” — and “Dark Horse” is no exception, a twisted rom-com ...
Small Screen Aug 29, 2013
'Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman'
by Mark Schilling
Director: Various Language: Japanese (subtitled in English) Criterion is releasing a Blu-ray/DVD box set of the first 25 films in the “Zatoichi” series. Starring the burly, charismatic Shintaro Katsu as the titular blind swordsman, this action-packed series, which ran from 1962 to 1989, was ...
Small Screen Aug 29, 2013
'The Addams Family'
by Kaori Shoji
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld Language: English The Addams Family really were a “scre-am,” and we can now relive the joy of seeing the happy/scary family assembled under one creaky roof: Barry Sonnenfeld’s 1991 classic starring Anjelica Huston, Raul Julia and Christopher Lloyd is out as ...
Small Screen Aug 29, 2013
'The Walking Dead Season 3'
by Giovanni Fazio
Director: Various Language: English Season 3 of everyone’s favorite zombie series is finally out to rent here, just as the trailers for Season 4 on U.S. TV are making the rounds. Ex-cop Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and his band of survivors find a place ...