Film / Reviews Jul 22, 2020
‘#Handball Strive’: The team may be fake, but the film is a winner
by Mark Schilling
Daigo Matsui’s comedy about a sham high school handball team feels more like the real deal thanks to a younger cast.
Film Jul 17, 2020
'#Handball Strive' digs into the pitfalls of performing for the 'likes'
by Mark Schilling
Daigo Matsui’s comedy is about a fake handball team that chases Instagram fame and falls victim to online perils.
Film / Reviews Jul 4, 2018
'You, Your, Yours': Goofball gags that'll go over well with goofball guys
by Mark Schilling
Love can drive you nuts. One recent illustration of how can be seen in the American TV show "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend," about a successful New York lawyer who runs into her teen crush one day, and soon after quits her job and moves to California ...
Film / Reviews Nov 30, 2016
'Japanese Girls Never Die': They want to have more than just fun
by Mark Schilling
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said he wants to build a society in which "all women can shine." But as Daigo Matsui graphically shows in his new film "Japanese Girls Never Die," women in Japan are still living in a male-dominated society that, in ...
Film Oct 19, 2016
Japan's eclectic collection of choice
by Mark Schilling
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 ...
Film / Reviews Sep 9, 2015
Schoolgirls with dubious impulses run wild in 'Our Huff and Puff Journey'
by Mark Schilling
When I was living in a student sharehouse, a fellow resident proposed breaking into a nearby public pool for a midnight swim. "Why?" I asked. "So we'll have something to remember when we get old," he said. That sounded reasonable enough, but later, while we were cavorting ...
Film Oct 10, 2013
TIFF is your chance to catch up with Japanese film
by Mark Schilling
The Tokyo International Film Festival, now in its 26th edition, has had its share of detractors, dissing it for everything from competition lineups of major festival castoffs (no longer true since TIFF stopped insisting on world premieres) to a Special Screening section that is ...