Kaori Shoji - The Japan Times

May 16, 2024

Meta

Kaori Shoji

Kaori Shoji writes about movies and movie-makers for the Film Page, plus takes a turn at the Bilingual Column. Biggest mistake of her career: taking the very dignified Nagisa Oshima to McDonald's for an iced coffee.

For Kaori Shoji's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

CULTURE / Film

Sep 19, 2001

Tinseltown, meet Chinatown

Rush Hour 2 Rating: * * * Director: Brett Ratner Running time: 90 minutes Language: English Now showing

CULTURE / Film

Sep 12, 2001

The untranslatable language of love

Captain Corelli's Mandolin Rating: * * * Japanese title: Koreri Taii no Mandorin Director: John Madden Running time: 129 minutes Language: English Opens Sept. 22 at the Marunouchi Louvre and other theaters

CULTURE / Film

Sep 5, 2001

Yes! Super film, hurrah!

Bridget Jones's Diary Rating: * * * 1/2 Japanese title: Bridget Jones no Nikki Director: Sharon Maguire Running time: 97 minutes Language: English Opens mid-September at Shibutoh Cine Tower and other theaters

CULTURE / Film

Aug 29, 2001

Don't they just drive you crazy?

Driven Rating: * * Director: Renny Harlin Running time: 116 minutes Language: English Now showing Cars! Babes! Money! Explosions! You'll get all of these in one huge dose in "Driven," a film that dares to flaunt all the things feminism has been trying to stamp out for the past 20 years.

CULTURE / Film

Aug 22, 2001

How one white girl found her groove

Save the Last Dance Rating: * * * Director: Thomas Carter Running time: 113 minutes Language: English Now showing How are your hips these days? Do they rotate, swivel, slither like a separate appendage you can just detach and unleash onto the dance floor? If the answer is "huh?" then see "Save the Last Dance" for a demonstration. It takes something like this film to make you realize that whoever invented the word "hip-hop" knew what he was talking about, except it's much more than hips hopping. It's hips doing things so, uh, sexy, that in comparison mere sex starts to look like photocopying or attending a marketing conference and gazing at figures on an overhead projector.

CULTURE / Film

Aug 15, 2001

So you think you're some sort of wiseguy?

Love, Honour and Obey Rating: * * * * Japanese title: London Dogs Director: Dominic Anciano and Ray Burdis Running time: 103 minutes Language: English Now showing "Oi, mate, what'ya up to this weekend?" "Dunno. Nothin' special -- maybe a spot of snooker." "How d'ya fancy making a film with us, then?" "Uhhhh . . ." "Come on. You get to play with guns, an' dress up an' say a few lines. Anyhow, there's no football on Saturday is there." "Fair enough. See you down the pub."

CULTURE / Film

Aug 8, 2001

'Louise (Take 2)'

Rating: * * * * Director: Siegfried Running time: 110 minutes Language: FrenchOpens Aug. 18 at Shibuya Cinema Society 'Louise (Take 2)" is a "road movie" in the most truthful, undiluted sense of the term. And yet it is far, far removed from the liberating buoyancy of ordinary road movies in which the protagonists don cool shades, get in some beautifully obscure car (like a '63 pink Studebaker), then drive off in an artistic whoosh of gravel and exhaust.

CULTURE / Film

Aug 8, 2001

Siegfried finds a home on streets with no name

In an industry where self-advertisement is practically a prerequisite, filmmaker Siegfried is amazingly reticent about his personal background. From his refusal to disclose his last name to his disdain of promotional tours and interviews, Siegfried is and remains a mystery.

CULTURE / Film

Aug 1, 2001

There's 'cheerleader angst'

Bring It On Rating: * * * Director: Peyton Reed Running time: 98 minutes Language: EnglishNow showing Thank you, O Lord. Such was my reaction after viewing "Bring It On," a bouncing-with-exuberance tale of high school cheerleaders. Hey, where are you going? Don't put down the paper just because you bumped into the word "cheerleaders." Honestly, it's not that bad.

CULTURE / Film

Jul 25, 2001

Something for everyone under the big blue sea

Dykkerne Rating: * * 1/2 Director: Ake Sandgren Running time: 91 minutes Language: DanishNow showing This is my second week in a row writing on a film from Scandinavia, so I'm suffering somewhat from Big Blonde People Overload. Especially since the latest involves apple-cheeked, sturdy-boned youngsters from Denmark who look as though they've never eaten anything but organic food in their lives.

CULTURE / Film

Jul 18, 2001

In praise of older actresses

Gossip Rating: * * * Director: Colin Nutley Running time: 135 minutes Language: SwedishOpens July 28 It's pretty hard to carry on as a woman in this world, but Swedish film "Gossip" tells you it's tougher for actresses. Especially when they are no longer young and must scheme and fight for love, jobs and respect. Directed by Colin Nutley ("Under Solen"), "Gossip" revolves around one day in the lives of nine women, all in the acting profession and all of whom have just auditioned for the title role in an American remake of "Queen Christina," which in 1933 pushed Swedish actress Greta Garbo to Hollywood stardom.

CULTURE / Film

Jul 11, 2001

The family that bathes together . . .

Shower Japanese title: Kokoro no Yu Rating: * * * * Director: Zhang Yang Running time: 92 minutes Language: MandarinNow showing When you're born Japanese, certain notions are drummed into you at a very early age. Among them is the deep-seated conviction that a long soak in a hot bath is pretty much the cure-all for everything from depression to flat feet.

CULTURE / Film

Jul 11, 2001

Playing close to home

As in so many other films, Zhu Xu's role in "Shower" is that of a devoted father. He laughs that directors tend to see him in this light and though he would like to "branch out" sometimes, he feels quite comfortable with this role. "Shower" turned out to be one of his favorite projects -- he himself loves the public bath and two of his close friends were also in the cast.

CULTURE / Film

Jul 4, 2001

Intrigue made to measure

The Tailor of Panama Rating: * * * * Director: John Boorman Running time: 109 minutes Language: English Opens July 7 at Cine Saison in Shibuya "The Tailor of Panama" is a genuine spy movie, but just a shade away from being "Saturday Night Live." One gentle push and it'd be a slapsticky comedy with banana peels strewn across the screen. Even as it is, it will still have you giggling uncontrollably before you snap back and think: "Wait a minute, I thought this was a spy story." Sure enough, there's Pierce Brosnan in a worsted suit and impeccable shoes, smoking cigars and driving too fast, coming on to different ladies and scoring most of them. So why this urge to crack up and slap your knees, even during scenes when people hurt each other or die and a nation's welfare is at stake? Oh gosh, excuse me . . . (the sound of stifled laughter).

CULTURE / Film

Jun 27, 2001

Stop me if you've heard this one before

Nadie Conoce a Nadie Rating: * * Japanese Title: PuzzleDirector: Mateo Gil Running time: 108 minutes Language: SpanishOpens June 30 at Cine La Sept in Yurakcho At this point in time, we, as an audience, have learned to expect things from the psycho-killer genre: elaborate mutilation; a hip and queasy soundtrack; and motives that hinge on repressed childhoods and/or too many video games. So when you're confronted with the story of a band of computer-wiz types attempting to systematically destroy their city, much in the same manner one would destroy a Sim City in some elaborate PlayStation scenario, you don't exactly hold your breath. Rather, you're tempted to sit back in a plush chair, stick a cigar in your mouth and say in a bored, Hollywood drawl: "OK. Surprise me."

CULTURE / Film

Jun 20, 2001

By the people, for the media

The Contender Rating: * * * * Director: Rod Lurie Running time: 127 minutes Language: English Now showing at Marunouchi Piccadilly and other theaters You see "The Contender" and you realize the level of puritanism in the United States, at least in terms of politics as presented by the media for public consumption. Not that we need a movie to remind us of this -- it wasn't too long ago that the private antics of a respected president were so horribly publicized. And just when we had almost forgotten about that little incident, "The Contender" is here to knock over the gravestone and drag out the corpse all in the name of good entertainment. It even mentions Bill's name a few times, as in lines like: "Let's remember what happened to Clinton. He got through it all right."

CULTURE / Film

Jun 13, 2001

And now, the greatest heroine on earth

The Invisible Circus Rating: * * * *Japanese title:Yukaihan Director: Adam Brooks Running time: 93 minutes Language: EnglishOpens July 7 at Yurakucho Subaru-za As we know from Julia Roberts, it's hard to be a heroine in Hollywood and stay that way. By heroine, I mean the classic, old-school types who are ephemeral and distressed, but not entirely vulnerable. For example, Julia was a heroine in "Pretty Woman" but discarded her credentials completely in "Erin Brockovich."

CULTURE / Film

May 30, 2001

Solitude, the big killer

Animals Rating: * * * Japanese Title: Yume no Tabiji Director: Michael Di Jiacomo Running time: 103 minutes Language: EnglishShowing at Theater Image Forum You'll probably need a long, stiff drink after "Animals" -- that's provided that you can last until the sad, sad ending. I foresee a lot of people not being able to take it anymore and leaving halfway through to go look for a bar.

CULTURE / Film

May 23, 2001

K.O. punch from the heart

Girlfight Rating: * * * * * Director: Karyn Kusama Running time: 111 minutes Language: English Now playing at Marunouchi Picadilly in Yurakucho and other theaters The only regret of seeing "Girlfight" is that it wasn't made two years earlier. Then it could have been released along with "Fight Club," and think of the effect the pair would have made.

CULTURE / Film

May 16, 2001

Are you ready to be yelled at?

Men of Honor Rating: * * *Japanese title: The Diver Director: George Tillman Jr. Running time: 128 minutes Language: EnglishOpens May 26 To see "Men of Honor" (released in Japan as "The Diver") is to walk into one of those bars where the clientele is mostly male (but not gay), full of the type of guys who spit on the floor while playing pool. To cut any ice in a place like this, one must be either: 1) Tommy Lee Jones; 2) Russell Crowe; or 3) Robert De Niro -- someone with thick forearms and a dense torso, a loud voice and bad clothes. So it's probably a good thing Robert De Niro is in this movie.

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.

[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Things may look perfect to the outside world, but today's mom is fine with some imperfection at home.

How 'Reiwa moms' are reshaping motherhood in Japan

By Mai Yoshikawa

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Vol. 35: Travel in time — and stay there

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS

author

Meta

Podcast

Longform

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER

In your social network

In your inbox

In your social network

In your inbox