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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 31, 2010

2010 top movies: 2-D vs. 3-D, actors vs. avatars

Even though it was released at the tail end of 2009, it was clearly "Avatar" that defined cinema in 2010. While this critic was lukewarm about it — "Dances With Wolves" in space, basically — plenty of nongeeky people I know truly loved it, so I've begun to reconsider my stance. One convincing argument...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 31, 2010

2010 top movies: Japan feels a crazy little thing called love

This was the year of love in Japan. Not that there was a sudden rise in the marriage rate (ain't happening), but you could sense a certain savviness about love-related issues that wasn't present before.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Dec 20, 2010

'Lost Boy' Lomong reflects

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — No one should be surprised that a movie is being made about Lopez Lomong's life. There is edge-of-your-seat drama, the horror of evil, the goodness of humanity. It is a lesson in how perseverance and a positive attitude, no matter what, can be rewarded with joy.
CULTURE / Film
Dec 17, 2010

'Welcome'

The reviews were mixed when "Welcome" won the European Parliament's 2009 Lux Prize, awarded to films that show "the process of building Europe in a different light." Previous winners were the highly acclaimed "The Edge of Heaven" and "Lorna's Silence" — and criticisms of "Welcome" focused on the fact...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 12, 2010

Can Nissan start weaning the auto industry off petroleum?

On Dec. 3, BBC News reported that the prices of petroleum on both sides of the Atlantic hit their highest levels since the financial crisis, with Goldman Sachs forecasting an increase to $100 per barrel in 2011.
CULTURE / Film
Dec 10, 2010

'Kick-Ass'

A couple of geeky high-school boys are hanging out discussing their favorite comic-book superheroes. One of them wonders out loud why no one has actually ever tried being a superhero; think about it, he says, thousands of people want to be Paris Hilton but nobody wants to be Spider-Man. His friend replies,...
COMMENTARY
Nov 29, 2010

Trigger-happy Indian cops cut corners to deliver quick justice

CHENNAI, India — India's democracy is being increasingly tarnished by its police force, which uses brutally illegal methods to deal with crime. Some officers are staging incidents to murder people who have been arrested on suspicion of committing particularly heinous offenses.
JAPAN / Media
Nov 28, 2010

Nicholas Bornoff, Japan Times writer and author of 'Pink Samurai,' dies aged 61

Nicolas Bornoff, who died of cancer in London on Oct. 30, was my predecessor as a film critic at The Japan Times, starting in the late 1970s and continuing for nine years. His style, in contrast to fellow reviewer Andy Adams' slangy journalese, aimed for the elevated and authoritative, which made me,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 19, 2010

Rethinking traditional urushi lacquerware

London, it appears, is a good place to learn about both past and present Japan. Last year, as Britain celebrated 150 years of cultural exchange with Japan, it hosted a number of major shows, including a large-scale matsuri (festival) in Spitalfields Market, a comprehensive exhibition of Utagawa Kuniyoshi...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Nov 19, 2010

New Hermes exhibition gets inspiration from 1982's 'Tron'

Te ground-breaking science-fiction movie "Tron" dazzled film-goers with its use of computer graphics and futuristic cinematography in 1982. Tapping into a widespread nostalgia for that film, the release of a sequel next month is already generating a lot of buzz.
CULTURE / Music
Nov 19, 2010

Envy take 'Recitation' out on the road again

Tokyo-based Envy issued their fifth full-length album, "Recitation," in September. To celebrate its release, the quintet embarked on their first North American tour in four years. On this, their longest international trek, the postrock and hardcore hybrid act played 25 shows in the span of a month. ...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Nov 7, 2010

Color me upbeat despite the pessimism now sweeping this land

As the year 2010 approaches its end, if I were to express the mood of today's Japanese nation in color it would be gray bordering on charcoal.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 15, 2010

'The Vintner's Luck'/'Bitch Slap'

New Zealand director Niki Caro made a name for herself with 2002's "Whale Rider," a canny mix of Maori myths and naturalistic performances, driven by a gifted young actress, Keisha Castle-Hughes, who was only 12 years old at the time. After going Hollywood with the sexual-harassment lawsuit drama "North...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 8, 2010

'The Expendables'

After reviving both the "Rambo" and "Rocky" franchises in the past few years, you might have thought that Sylvester Stallone had gone as far as he could coasting on his 1980s glory days.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 8, 2010

'Le Petit Nicolas'

For the defeated nations of World War II, the 1950s were a time of chaotic struggle, but for the victors, it was a time of stability, growing affluence and general cheerfulness (at least on the surface). Suited dads went to work and returned home for dinner, while moms stayed at home and could be relied...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 1, 2010

'Eccentricities Of a Blonde-Haired Girl'

Portuguese filmmaker Manoel de Oliveira should be listed in the dictionary under "antiaging" — at 100 years old, he has released the wonderfully titled "Eccentricities of a Blonde-Haired Girl" (released in Japan as "Blonde Shojo wa Kagekini Utsukushiku"), which is packed with romantic loveliness and...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 1, 2010

'El Topo'

A lot of times you'll see movies that a look a lot like all too many other movies you've seen before. Odd-couple buddy cops, one last heist, boy meets girl who hates him at first, the "chosen one" heroic quest, band of dysfunctional misfits who learn to pull together and triumph . . .
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 22, 2010

A call to end confusion over foreign names

A problem newspaper readers in Japan confront on a daily basis is that no definitive rule exists for writing foreigners' names.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 10, 2010

Fukuoka festival features top Asian films

Fukuoka turns the camera on Asia this month during the "Focus on Asia — Fukuoka International Film Festival 2010."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 27, 2010

'About Elly'

"About Elly" is the kind of ensemble film that recalls Robert Altman ("Pret a Porter," "Gosford Park") or an early Kenneth Branagh ("Peter's Friends"). A group of characters come together on screen, casual conversation is tossed about, relationships are forged or renewed or become strained — and with...
CULTURE / Books
Aug 22, 2010

Indonesia intrigue, Tokyo high-tech high jinx

While such enduring bad guys as Nazis, KGB agents, Cosa Nostra gangsters, sinister Asiatics and the occasional vampire still receive top billing in U.S. popular fiction and cinema, the events of 9/11 have not surprisingly inspired a stream of works featuring villains of Middle Eastern and/or jihadist...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 20, 2010

Japan's first film nude still radiant decades after getting skirty

Arranging an interview with Michiko Maeda took nearly a month — she has long been media-shy — but when she finally agreed to meet film writer Yoshiaki Suzuki and me at a Tokyo beer hall, she epitomized kimonoed grace and charm, while saying this would be her final interview.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 13, 2010

Finding fun in Summer Sonic's odd lineup

In May, Japanese Web site Netallica reported that advance tickets for two of the big rock festivals, Fuji and Summer Sonic, were not moving. Both feature foreign artists, and Netallica implied that the latter added the grand old man of Japanese rock, Eikichi Yazawa, and best-selling J-pop hip-hop group...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Aug 1, 2010

Historic 'pink' theater hopes to put ladies on seats, not just screens

The Kabuki-za theater in Ginza is not the only notable Tokyo structure dating back to the 1950s that has shut its doors this year.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Aug 1, 2010

Japanese quotes cast country's life and culture in disparate lights

SECOND IN A THREE-PART SERIES — In its current issue, the popular monthly magazine Bungei Shunju has a long feature titled "Tekichushita yogen 50," meaning "50 predictions that hit the mark."
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jul 12, 2010

Wanted: Train driver wannabe with money

Isumi Tetsudo is making train lovers' dreams come true but for how long?
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jul 9, 2010

Women feted through dance

In the Japanese dance scene, all-female performing companies are common. Mademoiselle Cinema, established in 1993, is one such group. The basic concept embraced by Naoko Ito, the group's choreographer, is "Nostalgia oriented toward the future" and her approach is to create dance by visualizing the memories,...

Longform

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