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G M Thomas FRSA @japanauthor.bsky.social · 15h

大相撲ロンドン公演！
Grand Sumo at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

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G M Thomas FRSA @japanauthor.bsky.social · 15h

大相撲ロンドン公演！
Grand Sumo at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

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G M Thomas FRSA @japanauthor.bsky.social · 1d

One of my favourite photographic books is called Boring Postcards, collected by Martin Parr and published by Phaidon.
Why? Because it shows that what might, at first glance appear intrinsically boring, in fact is something far more interesting. And it's more than nostalgia.

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G M Thomas FRSA @japanauthor.bsky.social · 1d

Photo-Club de Paris. Founded by Robert Demarchy in 1894 and bringing together a group of influential photographers who were more interested in the image and not the technical and scientific side that obsessed established institutions. (Illustrator unknown.)

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G M Thomas FRSA @japanauthor.bsky.social · 1d

A deeply observed Japanese film that clearly the @theguardian.com reviewer doesn't understand. I guess they don't know Japan (nor this genre of Japanese films) and they missed the nuance of behaviour and social norms. PS: plenty of gaijin in Tokyo eke out a living www.theguardian.com/film/2025/se...

Rental Family review – Brendan Fraser is stranded in mawkish misfire

The Oscar-winning star of The Whale makes another awards play with a beautifully shot yet emotionally inert comedy drama

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by G M Thomas FRSA

Prof Neil Martin @thatneilmartin.bsky.social · 1d

A fabulous, cocktail-based evening spent with the author of the best book on You Only Live Twice, @japanauthor.bsky.social

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G M Thomas FRSA @japanauthor.bsky.social · 1d

Ethan Hawke was a tour de force. A mesmerising film. www.theguardian.com/film/2025/oc...

Blue Moon review – Ethan Hawke is terrific in Richard Linklater’s bitter Broadway breakup drama

Hawke plays with campy brilliance and criminal combover the lyricist Lorenz Hart as he spirals into vinegary jilted despair after his split from Richard Rodgers

www.theguardian.com

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G M Thomas FRSA @japanauthor.bsky.social · 2d

LONDON FILM FESTIVAL. A superb feel good film and sharply observed. I've not read a review that was so wrong for a long time. Shame on you @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/film/2025/se...

Rental Family review – Brendan Fraser is stranded in mawkish misfire

The Oscar-winning star of The Whale makes another awards play with a beautifully shot yet emotionally inert comedy drama

www.theguardian.com

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G M Thomas FRSA @japanauthor.bsky.social · 2d

introduced too many extraneous elements, and the relationship between Etsuko and Niki given insufficient space. Add inconsistent art direction that veered between the realistic and sometimes stylised 1950s and heavy-handed nods to the likes of Ozu made for a disjointed film.
Pity.

G M Thomas FRSA @japanauthor.bsky.social · 2d

LONDON FILM FESTIVAL. Pale View of Hills. Kazui Ishiguro, the director Kei Ishikawa, and two of the actors Yō Yoshida and Camilla Aiko were at the premier in the @CurzonMayfair
The film was OK but not as good as expected. The acting was excellent but the story lacked focus...

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G M Thomas FRSA @japanauthor.bsky.social · 2d

The environment in the centre of London is slowly deteriorating but there are some aspects that are magical everyday. Mayfair.
@bskyphotos.bsky.social

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G M Thomas FRSA @japanauthor.bsky.social · 2d

LONDON FILM FESTIVAL. Just got back from the UK premiere of Pale View Of Hills. Directed by Kei Ishikawa (that's him in the photo) there's a lot to unpack.

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G M Thomas FRSA @japanauthor.bsky.social · 3d

Once the Polytechnic Institute; then The Polytechnic; now @UniWestminster it was the cradle of British photography back in 1840 and in 1841 it was the home of the UK's first commercial photographic studio. (And of course once home for Pink Floyd.)

G M Thomas FRSA @japanauthor.bsky.social · 3d

Was @expo2025japan a success. Not if you think being half full with visitor numbers and a blackhole of trillions of yen is success. A final overview here. grahamthomasauthor.wordpress.com/2025/07/21/o...

Osaka Expo 2025. (2025年日本国際博覧会)

The Grand Ring and the Water Plaza. The fundamental problem with 2025年日本国際博覧会 is that many of the participating countries treated it as a marketing tool for inbound tourism and few did more than pa…

https://grahamthomasauthor.wordpress.com/2025/07/21/osaka-expo-2025-2025年日本国際博覧会/

G M Thomas FRSA @japanauthor.bsky.social · 4d

Cecil Beaton's Kodak 3A folding camera
Inexpensive and practical, though not always easy to focus or use indoors. Producing postcard-sized negatives, Beaton would use it almost exclusively up to and including his first years at Vogue. Today ppl fuss over lenses, pixels, and photoshop to the extreme

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G M Thomas FRSA @japanauthor.bsky.social · 4d

Available as a free download on Apple Books.

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G M Thomas FRSA @japanauthor.bsky.social · 5d

grahamthomasauthor.wordpress.com/2025/01/02/c...

CELEBRATING A CENTURY OF THE YAMANOTE LINE. 1925-2025 山手線

In 2025, the Yamanote Line 山手線 celebrates its centenary, harking back to 1925 when it finally became a continuous loop. Across those hundred years it has not only become an iconic feature of Tokyo …

grahamthomasauthor.wordpress.com

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Reposted by G M Thomas FRSA

G M Thomas FRSA @japanauthor.bsky.social · Jan 1

This year we celebrate 100 years of the Yamanote Line - the complete loop opened in 1925. My look at the Line is being published by SAGUS on #AppleBooks even as I write. More, once it finally appears.

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G M Thomas FRSA @japanauthor.bsky.social · 5d

grahamthomasauthor.wordpress.com/2025/01/02/c...

CELEBRATING A CENTURY OF THE YAMANOTE LINE. 1925-2025 山手線

In 2025, the Yamanote Line 山手線 celebrates its centenary, harking back to 1925 when it finally became a continuous loop. Across those hundred years it has not only become an iconic feature of Tokyo …

grahamthomasauthor.wordpress.com

G M Thomas FRSA @japanauthor.bsky.social · 5d

I've not seen this portrait of Joan Crawford - before seeing it at the Cecil Beaton exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. Not your typical glamorous Hollywood shot. Nor that typical Crawford glare. Instead something natural and human. 1930.

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G M Thomas FRSA @japanauthor.bsky.social · 5d

LONDON FILM FESTIVAL. ChaO is directed by Yasuhiro Aoki; Hirokazu Kojima served as chief animation director, while Takatsugu Muramatsu composed the eardrum shattering music. The animation is bonkers and beautifully done but the storyline failed to grip me.
youtu.be/0tnUdT46B9I?...