Tag - damien-chazelle

 
 

DAMIEN CHAZELLE

Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 23, 2017
Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone hope to dance their way to Oscars glory in 'La La Land'
It's Hollywood's weekend. The 89th Academy Awards will be held Feb. 26 and nominated for a record 14 Oscars is a musical ode to the award's hometown titled "La La Land."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 22, 2017
'La La Land': Sometimes we need a trip to la-la land
La-la land: the mental state of someone who is not aware of what is really happening, and a nickname for the American entertainment industry centered on Los Angeles. These two meanings bleed into each other in director Damien Chazelle's multi-Oscar-nominated musical, "La La Land," which is about a state of mind as much as it is a place.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 23, 2015
Top 10 films of 2015: Inspired acting and difficult characters
The international lineup proved to be something of a mixed bag for film buffs in 2015. But the one thing that stood out among other features in this year's films were the acting performances. Some were skilled, others were extraordinary, but mostly they were memorable and gutsy, delivered with the kind of sincerity that allows a character to reach out from the other side of the screen and touch the audience. This happens a lot less often than you would expect, but when it does, it feels like you've been handed a gift. On that note, here are my top 10 films from 2015 — invisibly wrapped and tied with ribbons.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 15, 2015
The trauma of becoming exceptional
Long before it won three Oscars and was nominated for best picture, "Whiplash" — about the mesmerizing and often inexplicable relationship between a music student and his demonically obsessive teacher— had created a big stir in Japan. Media darling and California-based film critic Tomohiro Machiyama called it "a masterpiece, and so gripping that it scared me a little," while jazz musician Naruyoshi Kikuchi wrote it off as a "laughable and cartoonish piece of addictive junk food."

Longform

Historically, kabuki was considered the entertainment of the merchant and peasant classes, a far cry from how it is regarded today.
For Japan's oldest kabuki theater, the show must go on