National | Heisei Icons Apr 4, 2019
Takanohana: The nail that sumo pounded down
by John Gunning
In sumo's 2,000-year history, few men have been as steeped in the sport's traditions as Koji Hanada.
TV May 20, 2016
'Evening Smoke Bus Tour'; 'Gold Woman'; Suntory
by Philip Brasor
It seems any kind of professional can be a detective in Japan. The latest vocation is tour bus guide, as exemplified by Sayaka Sakuraniwa (Hisako Manda) in the two-hour mystery "Yukemuri Bus Tour" ("Evening Smoke Bus Tour"; TBS, Mon., 9 p.m.). Sayaka and her handsome ...
Film / Reviews Oct 29, 2014
Pale Moon: Bored bank teller embraces the root of all evil
by Mark Schilling
American bank robber Willie Sutton, who allegedly made more than $2 million over a 40-year criminal career, once told a reporter that he robbed banks because "that's where the money is." In the usual heist movie, however — with Stanley Kubrick's "The Killing" (1956) ...
Film Mar 6, 2014
Live-action Ghibli remake delivers a new Kiki
by Mark Schilling
When is a remake not a remake? Arguably, Takashi Shimizu's "Majo no Takkyubin (Kiki's Delivery Service)" is less a reworking of the Hayao Miyazaki animation classic (which this reviewer praised on this page in 1989) than his own interpretation of the 1985 Eiko Kadono ...