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Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jan 28, 2017

British actor John Hurt, star of 'The Elephant Man,' dies at 77

Veteran British actor Sir John Hurt, nominated for an Oscar for his starring role in "The Elephant Man" and his supporting role in "Midnight Express," has died after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 77.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 27, 2017

Ceausescu bunker offers a window into Romania's brutal communist past

The hermetically sealed heavy steel door to the bunker of Romania's late communist dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu, opens with a squeak, releasing a burst of cool air.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 24, 2017

T-C-T and TPAM set to offer a hot winter's feast of the arts

A bonanza is brewing in Tokyo and Yokohama for lovers of cross-cultural contemporary theater.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 19, 2017

Sion Sono swan dives into Shinjuku's chaos

Celebrated abroad for films that mash up everything from extreme sex and gore to Christian imagery and classical music, Sion Sono has emerged as one of the most distinctive directors in Japanese cinema this century.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 18, 2017

Shinya Tsukamoto and the song of 'Silence'

Since his early films, such as "Tetsuo: The Iron Man" (1989) and "Tetsuo II: Body Hammer" (1992), pioneered the cyberpunk genre with a crazed energy and invention, Shinya Tsukamoto has had a reputation as Japanese cinema's outlaw. While doing the occasional work for hire, he has stayed outside the industry...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 12, 2017

'Garage Rockin' Craze': 'It's not about fame, they want 15 minutes of fun'

Mario Cuzic used a video camera to face the question that keeps many expat English teachers up at night: What am I going to do before I head back home? His answer, "Garage Rockin' Craze," is a documentary on the history of Japan's underground garage rock scene that has nurtured internationally renowned...
CULTURE / Film
Jan 11, 2017

'Dirty Grandpa' is quite a stinker

'Dirty Grandpa." The un-ironic title is like a spray-painted graffiti sign warning everyone to stay away from this sewage-swilling clogged cesspit masquerading as a movie. Woe betide anyone who catches this on an airplane, they may wind up using all the airsick bags in their row, because it really stinks....
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Jan 10, 2017

From Iceland to Maldives, Chinese seek 'lung-cleansing' trips

Toxic haze that settled over much of China during the last three weeks has triggered a flight reflex among residents, leading to the rising popularity of smog avoidance travel packages to far-flung locations such as Iceland and Antarctica.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Jan 4, 2017

'Tampopo' has blown back to our screens

Released in 1985, Juzo Itami's "Tampopo" was famously a flop in Japan, but a hit abroad, especially in the United States, where it became the second-highest-earning Japanese film ever. This "noodle Western" about a rough-hewn truck driver (Tsutomu Yamazaki) who helps a spunky widow (Nobuko Miyamoto)...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 4, 2017

'Wiener-Dog': Todd Solondz is always painfully funny

Trigger warning: I am about to discuss a Todd Solondz film.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 28, 2016

'14 That Night': Not quite abreast of teenage angst

Japanese films about high schoolers are many; junior high schoolers, few. One reason is that producers can cast a film about 17 year olds with 27-year-old actors who have massive fan followings. The result: bigger box office than if they had used newcomers barely into adolescence.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 14, 2016

'Knight of Cups': Is Malick's cup half-full or half-empty?

Halfway through "Knight of Cups," the latest treatise from philosopher-filmmaker Terrence Malick, the movie's chorus of internal monologues yields a line that could be read as a memo to the director himself: "Don't get your head too far up your own ass."
Dec 8, 2016

Florence Foster Jenkins / Osaka Station City Cinema / 2016-12-10 to 2016-12-16

Dec 1, 2016

Babysitting 2 / Human Trust Cinema Shibuya / 2016-12-03 to 2016-12-09

Dec. 3, from Dec. 5 11:50, 21:05 / Dec. 4 12:00, 21:15
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 30, 2016

'Tale of Tales': Do we need fables for adults?

The current ideological system that governs our lives — call it late capitalism, the spectacle, or just Babylon — is most devious in its ability to take any and all resistance, any deviance from the hamster wheel of consumerism, and repackage it as just another product, whether that's Che Guevara...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Nov 30, 2016

The diversity of religion captured on film

Reflecting on the rise of a generation of Japanese that has grown up suspicious of organized religion — particularly those who came of age in the shadow of 1995's terror attacks by the Aum Shinrikyo cult — Nihon University's College of Art has put together a Religion Film Festival, which will be...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech / NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Nov 20, 2016

Believe it or not, virtual reality's takeover now underway

For game lovers, 2016 is likely to be remembered as the year when virtual reality technology, having become widely affordable, began to take over.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 16, 2016

'In This Corner of the World': Katabuchi's war film has a human heart

Going into "In This Corner of the World" ("Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni"), Sunao Katabuchi's animation about a girl's coming of age in prewar Hiroshima and wartime Kure, I was vaguely expecting an anti-war film like Isao Takahata's classic "Grave of the Fireflies" ("Hotaru no Haka," 1988), with its heart-rending...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 9, 2016

'At the Terrace' offers witty, coarse fun

"I know that many film fans have an allergy to films based on plays," writes Kenji Yamauchi on the website for his new film, "At the Terrace" ("At the Terrace: Terasu Nite"). "The never-changing setting and the long conversations bore them."
Nov 4, 2016

Inferno / Apollo Cinema 8 / 2016-11-05 to 2016-11-11

Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA
Oct 28, 2016

The faces of the Tokyo International Film Festival 2016

The 29th Tokyo International Film Festival, which opened on Tuesday, is screening a variety of cinema from all over the world at various venues in Tokyo. The festival runs until Nov. 3, when the jury will announce the winning films from the competition.
Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA
Oct 26, 2016

Stars sparkle on the red carpet of the Tokyo International Film Festival 2016

The 29th Tokyo International Film Festival marked its opening Tuesday afternoon with a traditional red carpet ceremony that was heavy on Asian stars and filmmakers.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 25, 2016

Bollywood jingoism rebounds against India

In its long-running battle with neighboring Pakistan, India's in danger once again of shooting itself in the foot.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 19, 2016

Japan's eclectic collection of choice

The Tokyo International Film Festival offers a great once-in-a-year opportunity to see new and classic Japanese films with English subtitles. The sheer quantity on offer — more than 50 titles in the main sections alone — can be overwhelming, though. Here are samples from my own must-see list.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 12, 2016

Kiyoshi Kurosawa's cinematic apparitions

Directors who become known as horror specialists often end up making little else, whether by choice or not. Labeled a "horrormeister" for such supremely creepy films as "Cure" (1997) and "Pulse" (Kairo, 2001), Kiyoshi Kurosawa is one director who has successfully expanded beyond the genre with his dark...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 12, 2016

'Jason Bourne': The invincible franchise

It's the Bourne revival: Matt Damon is Bourne again. After an unsuccessful attempt to transfer the franchise to Jeremy Renner in 2012's "The Bourne Legacy," Damon has returned to his most iconic role as the brainwashed CIA super-soldier. He's the real deal, the Sean Connery to Renner's George Lazenby,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Oct 12, 2016

Feel the Latin film beat

The Latin Beat Film Festival enters its 13th year, offering cinephiles in Tokyo, Osaka and Yokohama a chance to check out the latest in Spanish-language cinema with a dozen new films.

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