Tag - atom

 
 

ATOM

Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 26, 2016
'Remember': Some things can never be forgotten
The 2000s have not been kind to filmmaker Atom Egoyan, once hailed as a visionary who could do no wrong (particularly at the Cannes Film Festivals of the mid-1990s). Egoyan's career took an unexpected downward turn once the millennium kicked it, and from there on it's been a slippery slope. Try as he might, he just can't seem to get film buffs to adore him again, and his last two films, "The Devil's Knot" and "The Captive," have had (mainly Western) critics sighing loudly and rolling their eyes — virtually, of course.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Jun 18, 2016
Drawing on the past of Osamu Tezuka
In 1977, American author and translator Frederik L. Schodt and three friends formed a manga-translation group in Tokyo, with the then-quixotic dream of introducing Japanese comics to a global readership. Schodt had arrived in Japan in 1965, courtesy of a father in the United States Foreign Service. He returned in 1970 to attend university after a short stint in the U.S. At the time, manga were everywhere in Japan, he says, and a lot more fun to read than textbooks.
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 / Music
Oct 23, 2015
Roth Bart Baron gets theatrical on latest album, 'Atom'
Listening to Roth Bart Baron, it's not hard to hear the influence of Montreal-style indie rock on the band. But the duo believes if you dig deeper on its second album, "Atom," you can also hear a sci-fi ode to Tokyo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 14, 2015
Atom Egoyan brings the oppression of winter into 'The Captive'
Every parent's worst nightmare plays out in "The Captive," Canadian auteur Atom Egoyan's followup to "Devil's Knot," which opened in Japan last year.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 7, 2015
Star Belgian choreographer celebrates manga and more
"Tokyo, my brother, my protector" was the tweet posted by Belgian-born Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui — often dubbed "the busiest choreographer in the world" — straight after he arrived here two months ago.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 13, 2014
Atom Egoyan raises demons in 'Devil's Knot'
When three children were murdered in West Memphis, Arkansas, in 1993, the case quickly developed into a massive media spectacle.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 13, 2014
Devil's Knot
One summer afternoon in 1993, three young boys named Stevie, Christopher and Michael went to play at a local nature spot called Robin Hood Hills in West Memphis, Arkansas. Stevie's mom, Pam (Reese Witherspoon), told him to be home by 4:30 p.m., but the exchange was the last she would ever have with her son.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 23, 2014
Rewind This!
Presumably, Josh Johnson's amusing documentary "Rewind This!" is a trawl through the cultural history of the video tape and the people who are still attached to this format. But, more than that, it's a portrait of a certain type of otaku fanboy: those obsessed with B-grade movie schlock. The documentary races through the VHS versus Betamax format war, the development of the video rental economy and how that leveled the playing field for a wide range of low-budget filmmakers, and how the ability to easily watch films over and over changed how people saw them.

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