THE SHONEN MERIKENSACK Review
I feel a bit guilty saying this, but I almost didn't bother going to see The Shonen Merikensack. Kankuro Kudo's film has been promoted to within an inch of its life in Japan, to the point that I was already...
It's Official: Japanese People Prefer Japanese Films
The Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan announced their final box office tally for 2008 today. No prizes for guessing which film topped the list: Hayao Miyazaki's Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (Gake no Ue no Ponyo) left...
THE MAGIC HOUR DVD Review
When you're up to your knees in a bucket of concrete and about to be dumped in the sea, you'll say pretty much anything. For small-time hustler Bingo (Satoshi Tsumabuki), it's a seemingly innocuous fib: after being caught sleeping with...
HAPPY FLIGHT review
Shinobu Yaguchi's breakout movie, Waterboys, was a commercial and critical smash, elevating its writer/director from low-budget indie flicks to the big league. But the zany tale of a group of schoolboy losers who form a synchronized swimming team didn't do...
The Sensei Speaks: A press conference with Hayao Miyazaki
The genial grandpa of Japanese anime, Hayao Miyazaki gives interviews about as often as he turns out new films - which is to say, not nearly often enough. He made a rare appearance last Thursday at the Foreign Correspondents' Club...
