Movies coming soon

This autumn, like most autumns, looks like it's going to be a pretty good time for movies. The one I'm most looking forward to is called Runaway in Japanese, and it stars Robert Redford, whom you may remember from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. That's coming at the beginning of October. What else is coming? Check out the coming soon section at Cineplex.

Movies for the 2nd semester

My number 1 choice for the 1990s is Much Ado About Nothing. This movie stars Kenneth Branagh.

Coming movies

One of the movies coming up soon is Runaway. It stars Robert Redford, who I like very much. The movie is set in the USA, at the time of the Vietnam War (in the 1970s) and (perhaps) in the 1990s. Robert Redford plays a middle-aged, or older, family man. But it appears from the trailer that he was actually a terrorist in his younger days.

Summer Vacation podcast episode

Please listen to me talk about my summer vacation.

listen to ‘My summer vacation’ on Audioboo

My summer vacation

In my summer vacation, I did several interesting things. But I'd like to talk about Sapporo. Although I went there on business, my evenings were free, so I went to the Shiroi Koibito factory and Oodori Park. Sapporo was much cooler than Kumamoto and a very pleasant city, so, even though my stay was very short, I had a great time.

Juppun ha Juubun

In my summer vacation, I had a lot of work to do, so I didn't have much free time. However, overall it was a nice vacation.

My summer vacation

I had a pretty busy summer vacation. I guess the most enjoyable thing was my conference in Sapporo, because most days the sessions ended at 4 or 5 o'clock, so we had enough time to go out to restaurants or other places. I also got to see the Shiroi Koibito factory, which was very nice.

Summer holiday

This summer holiday was the busiest I have ever had. I had only one-and-a-half real holiday days, and spent the rest of the time at work. My biggest job was taking my PUK students to Amakusa on a 10-day English study camp, and preparing for that took a long time. I also went to Sapporo and Kyoto for conferences, and Fukuoka for a wedding. But I found time to watch the movie Star Trek: Into Darkness, which was great fun.

Thérèse, and other matters…

Today, we watched the trailer for Thérèse, a French movie starring Audrey Tautou, based on the famous novel by François Mauriac. It's about a woman who marries a rich man, and seems to believe she has found love, but finds that her husband is very cold, and she wants to get away from her life with him. I hope it comes to Denkikan sometime!

In football, Manchester City have signed, or will sign, Negredo and Jovetic, so their forward line will be even stronger next year. Manchester United, Chelsea, and Arsenal haven't been so active yet.

One Direction: This Is Us, and other matters…

This morning, we watched the trailer for This Is Us, a movie featuring One Direction. To tell you the truth, I don't know much about One Direction, and the trailer doesn't play any extended sequences of music from them, just tiny clips, which don't allow us to learn about their music. I don't think I will be going to the cinema to see this film.

There's not so much going on in soccer, except for lots of talk of expensive transfers. It seems that Edinson Cavani, the Uruguayan striker, has moved to Paris St-Germain for a fee of 64 million Euros (about 8.4 billion yen). (That's a lot of money!) In addition, it seems that Chelsea are trying to buy Wayne Rooney.

Inside Llewyn Davis, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Inside Llewyn Davis, the Coen Brothers' latest movie. It stars Justin Timberlake and Carey Mulligan, and John Goodman also features. It's about a folk musician.

Lots of movies coming up this summer: Spring Breakers, Innocent Garden, Beyond the Pines, To the Wonder, and so on. Check out the Denkikan site!

Runner, Runner, and other matters…

Today, we watched the trailer for Runner, Runner, a thriller starring Justin Timberlake and Ben Affleck. Justin Timberlake is a student at an elite US university who cannot pay his tuition fees, so he gets involved with online poker. But things get a bit out of hand!

I've no idea when Runner, Runner will start playing in Japan, so let's see what's playing at Denkikan, shall we? Ah, right, Celeste and Jesse Forever looks good. It's on at 13:40 and 18:40. At Cineplex, there doesn't seem to be anything good and new, though Gatsby and Fall of Olympus ("End of White House") are still playing for a while.

And not much is happening in football!

World War Z and other matters…

World War Z is a new movie starring Brad Pitt. It looks pretty exciting, and it's about zombies taking over the world. I think it's coming in August. Right now, though,  I'm hoping to find time to watch Love is all you need, a movie starring Pierce Brosnan, the previous James Bond. It's playing at Denkikan.

World War Z, Wimbledon 2013, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for World War Z, Brad Pitts's latest film that is scheduled to start playing in Japan in August. It looks pretty exciting, though I know some of the reviews are not so favorable. Before then, I want to see Love is all you need, a movie set in Italy and starring Pierce Brosnan. Check out the lemon creme brulee recipe!

The Wimbledon 2013 tournament finished last night. I didn't have time to watch any matches over the two weeks…until the ladies' final on Saturday night, when Marion Bartoli from France beat Germany's Sabine Lisicki. It was a fairly easy win in the end, but I found the match very entertaining. Last night, of course, witnessed Andy Murray beating Novak Djokovic in straight sets to become the first British man to win Wimbledon in 77 years. Even though he won in straight sets, it was a very tough match, with many long rallies and many deuces.

Thoughts on Italy

Italy is a country that I am very interested in but that I have never visited. Of course, at school I learned about the Roman Empire. When it comes to modern Italy, I think of opera. Famous cities in Italy include Rome, Venice, Milan, and Florence. There are also of course Pompeii and Pisa, with its leaning tower. Italian food is very famous and probably available throughout the world. Pasta is probably the best-known food. The most popular form of pasta is the long and thin spaghetti. Other forms include penne, ravioli, lasagne, and tagliatelle.

The Lone Ranger

listen to ‘The Lone Ranger’ on Audioboo

The Lone Ranger, and other matters

Today we watched a trailer for The Lone Ranger, the new Johnny Depp movie. I believe it's coming to Japan in August. It looks pretty exciting so I'll try to get hold of an advance ticket at a convenience store soon. The trailer we watched was trailer 3, which is very different from the one that plays at the cinema.

Johnny Depp is very popular now. I suppose most people know him for the Pirates of the Caribbean series. That is pretty good, but Johnny Depp has lots of other good movies. One of my favorites is What's Eating Gilbert Grape?, which also stars Leonardo DiCaprio. Another is Dead Man, and perhaps the best one of all is Donnie Brasco, a true story of the Mafia.

Alissa (Macmillan Readers)

Alissa

Suddenly the woman shouts at Alissa. "You aren't going to read here," she shouts. "You're going to cook and clean and wash."… Alissa is very unhappy. She cries every night.

This story is probably set in Latin American or South America. It's about a girl who is sold into slavery. But something good happens to her in the end.

Moore, C.J. (2005). Alissa. Oxford, UK: Macmillan Heinemann ELT.

300: Rise of an Empire, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for 300: Rise of an Empire. As you can imagine, it is the sequel (or prequel?) to the movie 300. That movie has a good reputation but, to tell you the truth, I never saw it. I plan to watch it on DVD soon and then go and see the second movie at the theater when it comes, in March next year.

Talking about movies playing now or coming soon, A Royal Affair is now playing at Denkikan. It is based on a true story involving the Danish royal family. It stars Mads Mikkelsen, who is best known for his work in the James Bond movie, Casino Royale. It ends on July 5th, so don't wait too long!

Rain, Rain, Rain!

Faye waits for the next bus. She waits and waits. There is no bus. "Where's the bus?" thinks Faye. Faye does not see a car. The car goes into the water. Now she is very, very wet.

Rain, Rain, Rain! is a Level 1 book in the Foundations Reading Library. It's about Faye, who is late for school because of problems with buses and trains. But there's a surprise waiting for her at school!

Waring, Rob and Jamall, Maurice. (2006). Rain, Rain, Rain! Boston, MA: Thomson ELT.