Friday, June 28, 2019

The Good Liar (Bill Condon), and other matters…

Ian McKellen
Helen Mirren

Today we watched the trailer for The Good Liar, a movie starring Ian McKellen and
Helen Mirren. Ian McKellen is known in recent years for The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Mr Holmes, and Magneto in the X-Men movies. Further back, he's known for Richard III and Scandal, for example. Helen Mirren is known for Gosford ParkThe Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, The Long Goodbye, and many more movies. More recently, she has appeared in RED and RED II.

82 words

The Good Liar

Ian McKellen (Lord of the Rings)
Helen Mirren (Eye in the Sky, The Queen)

Today we watched the trailer for The Good Liar, a movie directed by Bill Condon and starring Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren. It's about a swindler called Roy Courtnay who goes on a date with Helen Mirren. He pretends it's for a romantic relationship, but actually he knows that she is rich and he wants to take all her money. It looks very interesting, but I don't know when it will come to Japan.

The women's world cup is approaching its end. England reached the semifinals yesterday by beating Norway. I'm not sure who their opponent will be, though.

98 words

Saturday, June 15, 2019

Zombie by The Cranberries, and other matters...

The Troubles
Dolores O'Riordan

Today we watched some music videos. The first two were Zombie by The Cranberries. The first was the studio version with lyrics shown on the screen and the second was a live performance in Paris. The audience was very big and they were all standing, and they seemed very involved with the performance. I would have liked to see them live sometime, but the singer Dolores O'Riordan died last year. We also took a look at the beginning of Ridiculous Thoughts. The singing/wailing there sounds pretty good.

(87 words)

Zombie, by The Cranberries and other matters...

Today we watched a music video. It was Zombie by The Cranberries, an Irish group. First we watched the song with lyrics, and then we watched a live performance in Paris. That was in 1999, and at the end of the song the singer said something about wanting peace in Northern Ireland. That was around the time of the peace agreement.

The Cranberries are the second most successful Irish group ever. The most successful one is U2. Do you know them? They became popular in the 1980s and are still successful now.

It has been raining quite a lot since yesterday. I guess the rainy season is here. Fortunately, the rain is not so heavy now. Hopefully, it will clear up tomorrow. It seems to me that the season is much later than usual.

(132 words)

Friday, June 14, 2019

Men in Black: International, and other matters…

Chris Hemsworth
Tessa Thompson

Today we watched the trailer for Men in Black: International. It stars Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson. It begins on June 14th (today) in the U.S., and on the same day in Japan, too. It looks rather fun and exciting.

There has been quite a lot of sport going on. In France, the Roland Garros (French Open) tennis tournament was held. Rafael Nadal won his 12th title there. In football, the women's World Cup has been going on.

(77 words)

Saving Zoë

Laura Marano
Vanessa Marano

Today we saw the trailer for Saving Zoë, a new movie directed by Jeffrey Hunt. It's about two sisters, one of whom is called Zoë. She is murdered near the beginning of the film and her sister tries to find out what happened.

I was hoping to watch Colette at Denkikan but it's only playing for another week, so I guess I'll have to wait for it to be released as a DVD. At the big movie theaters, Aladdin and Men in Black are playing now. I'm not so interested in seeing them. I wonder what else is coming soon?

(99 words)

Ryuji Okada


Mai Hirakawa


Keiko Hibino

The correct total is 123 words!

Friday, June 7, 2019

Colette, Ad Astra, and other matters…

Keira Knightley
Dominic West

Brad Pitt
Donald Sutherland
Liv Tyler
Tommy Lee Jones

Today we watched two trailers. The first was Colette, which we watched a few weeks ago. The movie is now playing at Denkikan so I am hoping to find the time to go and see it. The second was Ad Astra. It stars Brad Pitt as an astronaut, and the son of an astronaut who died on a secret mission that threatens the whole Solar System. Other stars in the movie are Liv Tyler, Donald Sutherland, Tommy Lee Jones (as Brad Pitt's father, I think), and Ruth Negga. Actually, the name Ruth Negga wasn't familiar to me, but I notice that she stars in Loving, a movie I am planning to see sometime, and that she was also in World War Z, which I enjoyed. Ad Astra looks pretty exciting, but I'm guessing it won't come to Japan for quite a long time.

By the way, if you're interested in Colette, I hope you will also watch Gigi.

(157 words)

Phrases and sentences for my self-introduction

(1) Okazaki is a thirty-minute train ride south of Nagoya.

My university is a fifteen-minute walk from my home.

(2) My father works for the city government, and my mother is a homemaker.

My father is a gardener, and my mother works at a photography factory. My elder brother runs training programs for companies.

(3) I come from Hida, in northern Gifu.
I come from Exeter in the south-west of England.




Kikuchi is a seven-minute helicopter ride from Kumamoto.

Colette, and other matters…

Keira Knightley
Dominic West

Today's trailer was for Colette, a 2018 movie starring Keira Knightley and Dominic West. As you probably know, Colette was a well-known writer at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries. Gigi is one of her best-known books, later adapted into a musical. The Claudine stories are also very famous. The movie is only playing for a couple of weeks, and only a couple of screenings a day, so it may be difficult to get to see it. I wish it would play for a bit longer.

(91 words)


Friday, May 31, 2019

Ophelia, and other matters…

Daisy Ridley
Naomi Watts
Clive Owen

Today we watched the trailer for Ophelia, a new movie directed by Claire McCarthy. As you might expect, it's about the Ophelia that we all know from Hamlet.

I was disappointed that Arsenal lost in the Europa League final on Wednesday night. The team cannot defend reliably. Other teams at the top of the Premier League can also spend much more money than Arsenal. I wonder if they will ever get into the top 4 again. Let's hope so.

Now I am looking forward to the Champions league final. I am expecting Liverpool to win, but Tottenham may have some tricks up their sleeve.

(102 words)

Ophelia, and other matters…

Daisy Ridley
Naomi Watts
Clive Owen

Hamlet

Today we watched the trailer for Ophelia, a new movie starring Daisy Ridley, Naomi Watts, and Clive Owen. As you might have guessed, it's based on Hamlet but told from the point of view of his girlfriend, Ophelia. Of course, we've only seen a couple of minutes, but it looks very interesting. There's a suggestion that she becomes "mad" deliberately in order to avoid being seen as dangerous by Claudius.

The first of the European finals took place on Wednesday night. The result was disappointing for me, with Arsenal losing 1–4 to Chelsea. The other final, the Champions League, is coming on Saturday night, with Liverpool playing Tottenham Hotspur. I'm expecting Liverpool to win, but Tottenham may have some surprises.

(119 words)

Friday, May 24, 2019

Beautiful Boy

Steve Carell
Timothée Chalomet

Today we watched the trailer for a movie playing at Denkikan. It's Beautiful Boy, starring Steve Carell, Timothée Chalomet, and Maura Tierney. The three of them are part of a loving family, but the character played by Timothée Chalomet starts taking drugs and leading a wild life, and he becomes estranged from his father.

The political situation in the UK is a bit wild. Theresa May probably will step down as party leader and Prime Minister very soon. Many Conservative politicians want to be the next party leader, and therefore automatically Prime Minister. In the elections for the European parliament, the Brexit Party got the most votes.

[106 words]

Beautiful Boy, Crooked House, and other matters…

Steve Carell
Timothée Chalamet


Agatha Christie
Crooked House

Glenn Close

Today we watched the trailer for two movies currently playing at Denkikan. The first was Beautiful Boy, starring Steve Carell and Timothée Chalamet. The second was Crooked House, a movie based on the book of the same name by Agatha Christie. That one stars Glenn Close and Terence Stamp. They both look quite interesting. Crooked House is playing for another two weeks, and Beautiful Boy will finish at the end of next week.

This weekend, the final of the Europa League will be played between Chelsea and Arsenal, two London clubs. Next weekend, the Champions League will be played between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur (also a London club).

[107 words]

Thursday, May 23, 2019

Booklog code


<script type="text/javascript" src="http://widget.booklog.jp/blogparts/js/booklog_minishelf.js?default" id="booklog_minishelf"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://api.booklog.jp/json/rickla?category=0&count=35&callback=booklog_minishelf&template=default"></script>

Friday, May 17, 2019

Colette, and other matters…

Kiera Knightley

Today we watched the trailer for Colette, a new movie about the French writer Colette. It's scheduled to begin at Denkikan on June 7th. It stars Keira Knightley, who is famous for many movies, including Bend It Like Beckham, Pride and Prejudice, The Imitation Game, Anna Karenina, A Dangerous Method, Never Let Me Go, Atonement, Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Wars: Episode 1—The Phantom Menace, and so on.

(68 words)

Where'd You Go, Bernadette?

Richard Linklater (Director)
Cate Blanchett

Today we watched the trailer for Where'd You Go, Bernadette?, Richard Linklater's latest movie. You may know Richard Linklater for movies like Boyhood and the Before… series (Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and Before Midnight). The star of the movie is Cate Blanchett, who is best known for her performances of Elizabeth I and Galadriel (in Lord of the Rings). She plays a woman who used to be a famous architect but hasn't worked recently. Her friend persuades her that she needs to work, so she goes to Antarctica to work on the design of some kind of building.

Have you watched any football recently? Derby got to the play-off final, beating Leeds United.

(112 words)


Getting Booklog onto your blog

Check out these pages: