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May 10, 2025
 

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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 22, 2012

'Seesaw'

Many Japanese indie films never achieve the grail of a theatrical release, and some arrive on theater screens here only after a long journey on the festival circuit. Seeing the latter on a distributor's lineup years after shooting wrapped, I feel like saying otsukare-sama ("job well done") to the filmmaker...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 25, 2012

'Men in Black 3'

How do you feel about men in black suits? Black shoes? Narrow (but not too narrow) black ties? Call me strange, but I've always had a weakness for that look, ever since Jake and Elwood Blues of "The Blues Brothers" perfected the mode in 1980. Always trust the guy in the suit, as my granny used to say....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 6, 2012

Director flirts with film history in 'The Artist'

With hindsight, successful ideas always look brilliant, but that doesn't mean everyone involved viewed them as such from the outset. That's especially true in the world of film finance, where producers are loathe to gamble with people's money, and the best approach is usually the one that worked last...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 23, 2012

'My Week With Marilyn'

In his book "Retromania," music critic Simon Reynolds makes the case that pop music/rock has gone distressingly meta, feeding on its accumulated history at the expense of any further forward evolution musically. It's a bold argument — and well worth a read — but one could probably make the same case...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 9, 2012

'Shame'

Sexual addiction is defined by one recovery-program website as "any compulsive or impulsive sexual activity that falls into one of three categories: shameful, secretive or abusive." Well, that's a bit of a party-killer, isn't it? Beyond the fact that this defines as illness so much common sexual activity...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Feb 24, 2012

Film focuses on Brazil's favelas

Brazil, halfway across the globe from here, is known for its colorful Carnival, devotion to soccer, and increasing economic power. Its image, however, is sometimes marred by street violence, drug-trafficking and police corruption.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 3, 2012

'The Hunter' / 'Poetry'

One of cinema's most constant motifs is the flawed, morally corrupt character who in the last reel listens to his conscience and decides to do the right thing. There's a good reason for this: Audiences know all too well how easy it is to be a "good German," and desperately wish it weren't so. You often...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 13, 2012

'The Devil's Double' / 'Un Prophete'

It's sometimes funny how filmmakers' careers play out, and how the hand of fortune can give them a boost or a brush-off. Take Lee Tamahori: This Kiwi director had a powerhouse of a breakthrough film with "Once Were Warriors," an unflinching tale of alcoholism and revenge set in Auckland's Maori community,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 30, 2011

Films that make you feel it like the first time

My one wish for the New Year would be to wipe my brain clean of all the movies I've ever seen. With a fresh slate, I could sit back and enjoy, say, some new neo-noir without comparing it to "Chinatown." On a bad day I'll think that cinema is most intense at first blush, that the films that imprint themselves...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 16, 2011

'London Boulevard'

London Boulevard" starts off with a premise worthy of any British crime film: Hard man Mitchel (Colin Farrell) is just out of prison, after serving time for murder, and he's not eager to go back in. His sketchy South London friend Billy (Ben Chaplin), however, welcomes him back with open arms and pressures...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / Japan Pulse
Dec 8, 2011

New era for New Year's cards

It'll be nengajo time soon, and clever entrepreneurs have got you covered.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 4, 2011

'Rabbit Hole" / "Another Year"

As the marketing budgets for movies about alien invasions, Nordic gods and talking cars grow exponentially bigger, they increasingly tend to define our notions of what cinema is or could be. This has resulted in a generation or two out there who see little reason to go to a movie about, well, people....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 22, 2011

Red Hot Chili Peppers

After a triumphant appearance at this year's Summer Sonic music festival, the Red Hot Chili Peppers are coming back to Japan via cinemas.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 2, 2011

'Hanna'

Hollywood so often uses foreign-accented types for its villains, and American media in general spends so much time bashing Europeans as cheese-eating surrender-monkeys, that it's good to see ol' Europe hitting back. "Hanna," the slick new action thriller by Londoner Joe Wright, is the third film this...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 5, 2011

'Days of Heaven' / 'Nashville'

It's somewhat depressing to think that the two best films on offer this summer, by far, were made over three decades ago. Robert Altman's epic "Nashville" came out in the torrid summer of 1975, while Terrence Malick's sophomore film, "Days of Heaven," was released in '78 after two years in the editing...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 4, 2011

'Tokyo Tango': A fairy tale to keep you on your toes

When the mayor of a village is told by a frog king, who is fascinated by the elegance of swans gliding in the lake, that his villagers should wear toe shoes (ballet pointe shoes) all the time, he instructs everyone between the age of 8 months and 88 years to do so. Though at first this seems like a fun...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 15, 2011

'Under the Hawthorn Tree'

One of my girlfriends in high school had super-strict parents. Not only was she required to be home by the ungodly hour of 8 p.m. every night, she was allowed no boys in her life, and her dad even forbade her to smile and say "thank you" to the delivery guy. On the other hand, this girl recognized the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 24, 2011

'Biutiful'

Ninety percent of the time, it's too much to bear even for the audience, so imagine what those people up on the screen are going though. Mexican filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu revels in shoveling out far more than a fair share of atrocious luck and tremendous suffering to his characters, and...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 18, 2011

'Somewhere'

Those who say that "Somewhere" is too slow and goes nowhere are probably missing the point. Sofia Coppola — the filmmaker behind this droll Hollywood fairy tale — loves the static state: She's a rare American woman who gives the impression of never having rushed anywhere her entire life. Behind her...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Mar 6, 2011

Tadao Sato: 'Japan's single finest film critic'

Tadao Sato laughed an embarrassed laugh as he recalled that three years ago, in London, he had been referred to as a "legend." Though adding to his discomfort, I had to admit that in my university days I had thought of him in the same way. And I still do.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 4, 2011

'Chatroom'

Speaking strictly from a J-cinema fan/patriot point of view, "Chatroom" is a cause for celebration. It's set in London, stars some of the brightest young talent in the United Kingdom, centers around the timely topic of social networking — and the whole thing is directed by Japanese horror meister Hideo...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Mar 4, 2011

Osaka film fest goes global

Osaka may be known to connoisseurs and gluttons alike as the "kitchen of Japan," however a film festival in the third-largest city of the nation is doing all it can to portray a different picture.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jan 21, 2011

National Film Center holds French film fest

For many, new year is a time for reflection. A chance to look at the past with fond, albeit critical hindsight. A film festival in Tokyo is doing just that by ringing in 2011 with a retrospective look at French cinema from the last two decades.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 14, 2011

'Yoyochu: Sex to Yoyogi Tadashi no Sekai (Yoyochu in the Land of the Rising Sex)'

Japan's sex industry is huge, diverse and different. One oddity, at least to Western eyes, is the pinku eiga (pink film), a genre of soft porn made according to certain rules (the most important being the inclusion of a simulated sex scene every 10 minutes or so) and shown in specialized theaters. Pink...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 28, 2010

Kabuki going strong, 400 years on

The media frenzy over kabuki star Ichikawa Ebizo's drunken midnight brawl in Tokyo last month may be a testament to how, 400 years after its birth, the genre remains a highly popular form of entertainment integral to Japanese culture.
JAPAN / Media
Oct 17, 2010

Pusan festival delivers rich lineup of movies despite budget slump

Earlier this year, Kim Dong Ho announced that the 15th Pusan International Film Festival, which ran from Oct. 7 to 15, would be his final one as the event's director. Kim launched PIFF in 1986 and quickly made it the most important Asian film event of the annual calendar. As a farewell gesture, the traditional...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Oct 10, 2010

Creative battle for boost in regional tourism heads to Japan's big screen

In recent years, many regional governments in Japan have set up "film commissions" to help production crews shoot motion pictures and TV dramas in their neighborhoods, in the hopes of attracting tourists and revitalizing local communities.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Oct 1, 2010

Kurosawa's creative canvas

Little-known fact: Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa meticulously painted more than 2,000 storyboards in his lifetime. Masterpieces in their own right, a selection of around 150 will be displayed at an exhibition in Ebisu, accompanied by screenings of his movies "The Quiet Duel," "Rashomon," "Ran" and...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 15, 2010

Pair of Lehman Tokyo alumni chasing their dreams in movies

Adam Garrett went into the credit crisis an equity quant trader for Lehman Brothers Holdings in Tokyo. He came out Guy Orlebar, director, film financier and producer of "Future Fighters," a sci-fi action movie starring "Kill Bill's" Gordon Liu.
Global militaries to study India-Pakistan fighter jet battle
The Indian Air Force's Rafale fighter jets. India and Pakistan aircraft engaged in a dogfight on Wednesday.
Man admitted to 2025 Osaka Expo with 85-year-old ticket
The Osaka Expo, which opened last month, runs through mid-October.
In his first appearance, Pope Leo offers three big clues about his papacy
Newly elected Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost of the United States, appears on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on Thursday.
Japan stuck at starting line in tariff talks with U.S. as U.K. inks deals
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan’s top tariff negotiator, speaks to the press on Friday. Japan and the United States are still discussing what to negotiate.
Who could become Japan's next prime minister?
Clockwise from top left: Former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi, former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi, Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi
With a new Shibuya studio, Apple Music bets big on Japan
Apple Music personalities (from left) Ebro Darden, Kentaro Ochiai, Zane Lowe and Mino came together for a special recording in late April to discuss music and celebrate the newly opened Apple Music studio in Tokyo.
Kazuki Nagasawa's sustainable designs are rooted in tradition
For centuries, artisans have unraveled strands of the fibrous bark of "shuro" trees to create a medley of everyday objects. Designer Kazuki Nagasawa is now transforming the traditional material into ethereal contemporary pieces.
SusHi Tech Tokyo 2025 expands to become one of Asia's largest startup events
SusHi Tech Tokyo 2025 was bustling with participants of various nationalities Thursday, and multiple languages could be heard around the room as many engaged in conversations throughout the day.
Celebrating Japan’s defeat at Shimoda’s Black Ships Festival
Tatsumi Onose (right), who plays the part of Commodore Matthew Perry in Shimoda's Black Ship Festival, says the historical episode the event is based on should be remembered for its positives more than its negatives.
'Big picture thinker': Ispace CEO Hakamada on reaching the moon and dreaming of starships
Takeshi Hakamada, founder and CEO of Ispace, says his primary interest in space development is not to abandon Earth, but to protect it.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan
By Hanako Lowry

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