TERMINATOR SALVATION @ THE SONY BUILDING
The only thing in need of salvation here is the series itself. I’m not even sure where to begin with describing what’s wrong with this film. So I guess I’ll try starting with what was done right. Firstly, the special effects were very nice. But how many big budget films these days, especially ones bearing the Terminator name, can you honestly say have bad special effects?  Yeah, that’s right. Second of all, um, well… that’s it. Sorry. I tried. Now, the bad. The direction by McG has no̷

TERMINATOR SALVATION @ THE SONY BUILDING
The only thing in need of salvation here is the series itself. I’m not even sure where to begin with describing what’s wrong with this film. So I guess I’ll try starting with what was done right. Firstly, the special effects were very nice. But how many big budget films these days, especially ones bearing the Terminator name, can you honestly say have bad special effects?  Yeah, that’s right. Second of all, um, well… that’s it. Sorry. I tried. Now, the bad. The direction by McG has no̷

WASEDA-SAI 2009
Waseda University is one of the most famous in Japan. There are many campuses all around the country, but its main one — and the one where I attended this festival last weekend — is located in Nishi-Waseda, Tokyo. It boasts an impressive roster of alumni: six postwar Prime Ministers; corporate heavyweights including one of the co-founders of Sony and the CEOs of UNIQLO and Honda; and internationally-acclaimed author Haruki Murakami just to mention a few. And every year, its students hold a festival. I heard about this festival purely by

MAMESHIBA
Mameshiba (豆しば) are small bean-shaped creatures with cute puppy dog faces. They’re also one of the past year’s neatest advertising success stories. If the cover video above was your first encounter with Mameshiba, you’ll no doubt still be wondering what on earth is going on (understanding the Japanese doesn’t really help). But that’s just an introduction. The meat of the Mameshiba… thing (for want of a better word) are the following 30-second animated shorts, complete with annotated English translations. Watch them and see if you’re any wiser by the end.