Tag - kazuya-shiraishi

 
 

KAZUYA SHIRAISHI

Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 5, 2022
‘Lesson in Murder’: A masterclass in portraying evil
Sadawo Abe delivers a chilling performance as a murderous mastermind in Kazuya Shiraishiu2019s psychological thriller.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 19, 2021
‘Last of the Wolves’: A sequel with just as much bite as the first
The follow-up to Kazuya Shiraishiu2019s u201cThe Blood of Wolvesu201d features emotionally raw and poignant moments in the middle of violent gang power struggles.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 7, 2019
'One Night': A family drama both deep and dark
Kazuya Shiraishi's latest tells the story of three siblings whose mother kills their abusive father and then abandons them for 15 years, before returning to check on their progress in life
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 10, 2019
'A Gambler's Odyssey 2020': A lot of controversy about nothing
Given the timid, committee-driven nature of modern Japanese film production, it's rare for anything to make it into the cinemas with even the slightest whiff of controversy still clinging to it. "A Gambler's Odyssey 2020" is a pungent exception.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Oct 3, 2018
'Dare to Stop Us': Japanese cinema's bad boy as seen by one of the women who worked with him
In the 1960s Koji Wakamatsu was Japanese cinema's enfant terrible: A real-life outlaw — he once joined a yakuza gang and served time in prison — he made pioneering "pink" (softcore porn) films such as "The Embryo Hunts in Secret" (1966) and "Go, Go, Second Time Virgin" (1969), whose extreme sex and violence, filmed with raw energy and wild invention, gave censors and industry guardians conniption fits.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 9, 2018
'The Blood of Wolves': Old-school yakuza thrills are back
The yakuza movie used to bestride the Japanese film industry like a colossus, but now clings to its margins. A well-known director occasionally essays the genre, as Takeshi Kitano did last year with "Outrage Coda," but a true revival has yet to come.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 28, 2018
'Sunny/32': If idol-pop and 'Saw' were to have a baby, this may be it
Visitors to Japan are often surprised by the visual and aural clutter they encounter in what they might know as the land of Zen. Instead of minimalist rock gardens, Japanese cities assault the senses with bright lights, ads and loudspeaker noise. This overload extends to other areas: from stocked-to-the-rafters discount stores (Don Quijote) to movies with tons of characters and reams of dialogue ("Shin Godzilla").
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 25, 2017
'Birds Without Names': Strong acting gets us through a couple's bad romance
If you're in the mood for a pleasant love story, avoid "Birds Without Names" like the plague. On the other hand, if you're cursing the idea of another Christmas alone, revel in the hope that all relationships may be as bad as the ones in this film.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 22, 2016
'Twisted Justice': Gangster black comedy is a shade off
In 2003, a Hokkaido cop named Yoshiaki Inaba was sentenced to nine years in jail, on charges including drug use and possession with intent to supply. During his trial, the former police inspector revealed that his impressive career record had involved an unhealthy degree of collusion with contacts in the criminal underworld. Prior to his arrest, he'd been selling stimulants in order to purchase illegal firearms that he then turned in to the police department — and, he claimed, doing so with official approval.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 26, 2013
Mark Schilling's 2013 Top 10: Farewell to Ghibli's anime masters
Japanese films did quite well both commercially and critically in 2013, with Hayao Miyazaki's final feature animation, "Kaze Tachinu (The Wind Rises)," thumping the Hollywood competition at the local box office. But the industry's over-reliance on sure-thing manga, TV shows and novels for source material has put a damper on its creativity, while abroad the demand for quirky, violent films from Japan is still strong. Often lost in the cracks are good indie films that try to tell original stories about actual human beings.

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A statue of "Dragon Ball" character Goku stands outside the offices of Bandai Namco in Tokyo. The figure is now as recognizable as such characters as Mickey Mouse and Spider-Man.
Akira Toriyama's gift to the world