Gemini Man, and other matters…

Ang Lee
Will Smith
Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Clive Owen
Benedict Wong

Today's trailer was for a movie that started playing today in Japan: Gemini Man, starring Will Smith, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clive Owen, and Benedict Wong. It's set in the near future, when the character played by Clive Owen has cloned the soldier Henry Brogan, and sends the clone to kill Henry. The story is pretty exciting, but the movie has quite negative reviews from professional critics. Part of that is to do with the high frame rate they used to film the movie, which people say looks unnatural. I couldn't tell any difference from the standard format.

(97 words)

Midterm Report (November 7th)

Book reviews:    (Target: 5)

Kumamoto:  (Target: 4)

Gofun ha Juubun: 

Other (diary, etc.): 

TOTAL posts this semester:     (Target: 24)

Gemini Man, and other matters…

Henry: Will Smith
Danny: Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Clay: Clive Owen
Baron: Benedict Wong

Today we watched the trailer for Gemini Man, a thriller set in the near future starring Will Smith and Clive Owen. Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Benedict Wong also star. After Henry retires, someone comes to kill him. The person is very skilled, and Henry wonders who he is. Danny finds out that the person trying to kill him is his clone! So they try to capture the clone and tell him the truth.

Autumn is a good time for movies. The other two movies playing now that I recommend strongly are John Wick: Parabellum and Yesterday. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, playing at Denkikan, is also really good!

[110 words]

Zombieland, Zombieland: Double Tap, and other matters…

Woody Harrelson
Jesse Eisenberg
Abigail Breslin
Emma Stone

Today we saw the trailers for both Zombieland and Zombieland: Double Tap. Zombieland was a 2009 hit featuring Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Abigail Breslin, and Emma Stone. It was an action/horror comedy in a world where most people have become zombies but the four stars have managed to survive. Now, ten years later, the sequel is coming out!

I also recommend that you go and see Yesterday!

(66 words)

Dead Cold

"Don't worry, Scott, I'm behind you," I said quietly.
I could see Scott in front of me. It was dark, but I could just see him. Suddenly I heard a loud noise. A gun. Then Scott was down on the dirty floor. His blood was everywhere.

This detective story is a Level 2 book in the Cambridge English Readers series. It concerns Detective Flick Laine, a Denver detective whose partner, Scott, died recently. There has just been a murder in Pine Crest, a skiing town nearby. Flick has to go and try to solve the crime.

This story is very interesting. In particular, I like the way that it describes Flick's work as well as her emotions.

Leather, S. (2006). Dead cold. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Dead Cold Level 2 (Cambridge English Readers) 著者 : Sue Leather Cambridge University Press 発売日 : 2007-01-15 ブクログでレビューを見る»

Vocabulary

governor: 州知事
bribe: 賄賂

Zombieland, Zombieland: Double Tap, and other matters…

Woody Harrelson
Jesse Eisenberg
Abigail Breslin
Emma Stone

Today we watched the trailers for Zombieland (the 2009 original) and Zombieland: Double Tap, the sequel that is coming next month. The sequel, like the original, stars Woody Harrelson, Jess Eisenberg, Abigail Breslin, and Emma Stone. The movies are a kind of action/horror comedy. I certainly want to see it on the big screen.

Other movies coming soon or starting today are Maleficent 2, Gemini Man, and Terminator: Dark Fate. It seems that autumn is the best time for big movies, and spring is the best time for smaller ones.

(89 words)

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Lily James

Director: Mike Newell

Today we watched the trailer for The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It's a movie that will start playing at Denkikan in a couple of weeks. It stars Lily James, and it's directed by Mike Newell, who is famous for movies like Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Donne Brasco, Mona Lisa Smile, Four Weddings and a Funeral, and so on.

(64 words)

The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society

Lily James: author
Director: Mike Newell (Great Expectations, Harry Potter and Goblet of Fire, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Donnie Brasco)

Today we watched the trailer for The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, starring Lily James and directed by Mike Newell. It's set in the Second World War, in London and on the island of Guernsey. Unlike England, Guernsey was occupied by the German army. The people were very hungry but they entertained themselves with regular meetings where they read books together and also made pie from potato peel. Lily James plays an author in London who hears about the society and visits Guernsey to find out more about it. But what happens to her fiancé back in London?

Director Mike Newell is well-known for movies like Donnie Brasco and Four Weddings and a Funeral. Why not check out his latest movie?

(122 words)

Submergence

Wim Wenders
James McAvoy
Alicia Vikander

Today we watched the trailer for Submergence, a film that's now playing at Denkikan. It's a love story starring James McAvoy and Alicia Vikander. It's playing for one week only. Another film that's coming to Denkikan soon is the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I saw it in Tokyo a few weeks ago. It's great!

Have you been watching any soccer recently? In the Premier League, teams that are usually very strong such as Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United, and Chelsea are not doing so well. People are excited that some of the weaker teams, such as Leicester and West Ham, may do well this year.

(106 words)

Submergence

Submergence
Wim Wenders
James McAvoy
Alicia Vikander

Today we watched the trailer for Submergence, a movie starring James McAvoy and Alicia Vikander, and directed by Wim Wenders. James McAvoy plays an MI:6 and Alicia Vikander plays a marine biologist who usually works on a submarine. They both have dangerous jobs, and they both have to be away from home for a long time, but they fall in love. The trailer shows James McAvoy in Somalia. He is captured by terrorists.

From today, the Hummingbird Project has started playing. That stars Jesse Eisenberg. It looks very interesting.

(88 words)

Writing IV: an outline

Hi everybody,

Here are some details regarding Writing IV.

Basically, there are three types of work:

1. Gofun ha Juubun: This is a kind of timed writing that we will do at the beginning of each class. Please be sure to come on time so that you can do the timed writing with everyone.
2. Reading and book reviews: Reading English regularly is probably the most important thing if you want to improve your writing. You should write 12 book reviews during the semester, basically one a week. When possible, I will give you time to write one in class. But most of the time it will be necessary to read a book and write a book review for homework. Very short books are fine, but if you have extra time I recommend reading something a bit longer and more difficult.
3. Essay-related work: There will be about three major topics during the semester. These will lead up to writing an essay, but we will do lots of activities before you have to write the essay, so that you can read, listen to, or talk about the topic, or do short writing tasks to prepare you for the essay.

Henry and Mudge and the Yellow Moon

The clicking got louder.
The shoes are coming! thought Henry.
He put his head in Mudge's neck.
Now the clicking was louder than ever.
"Mudge," Henry's mother said, "stop chattering."
Chattering?
Henry put his ear near Mudge's mouth.
And Mudge's teeth went CLICK-CLICK-
CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK.

Henry and Mudge and the Yellow Moon, like the other Henry and Mudge books, is a Ready-to-Read Level 2 book. It is a collection of three very short stories, all about the autumn. The three stories are Together in the Fall, Under the Yellow Moon, and Thanksgiving Guest. The above quotation is from the second story. Henry's mum likes reading ghost stories to the family at Halloween. Henry doesn't like them. But they are all surprised to find that Mudge is more scared than anyone!

Vocabulary

hold one's breath
graveyard
jack-o'-lantern
chipmunk

Rylant, C. (1987). Henry and Mudge and the yellow moon. New York, NY: Simon Spotlight.

Henry and Mudge under the Yellow Moon (Henry & Mudge) 著者 : Cynthia Rylant Simon Spotlight 発売日 : 1996-06-01 ブクログでレビューを見る»

932 words

歴史と現代が調和するコンパクトCity”熊本市”を巡る

Today we watched a video about Kumamoto, made by some westerners based in Fukuoka (I think). They talked about how to get to Kumamoto from Fukuoka. They mentioned that Kumamoto is one of the biggest cities in Kyushu, and that it is easy to get around the city.

How was everyone's summer vacation? I didn't really have much real vacation, but I went on several business trips and had some free time in the evenings. I took some students to Aso for a week for an English camp. I also went to Tokyo twice for some meetings and a seminar.

(99 words)

Henry and Mudge and the Careful Cousin

Henry felt around under his bed.
He pulled out a brown paper bag.
It had some dust balls on it and an old piece of hard gum stuck on it.
Henry pulled out a cookie and handed it to Annie.
She turned pink again.
Uh-oh, thought Henry.
This was going to be a very long visit.

Henry lives with his dog Mudge and his parents. One day, his cousin Annie comes to visit. Henry has never met her before, so he is a bit worried. When she arrives, he is even more worried, because she wears very elegant clothes and she doesn't like getting dirty. She doesn't like it when Mudge licks her, and she doesn't seem happy that Henry's room is so dirty.

But, as time goes by, she gets used to Henry and Mudge, and she is very good at doing the frisbee.

By the time she leaves, Henry and Mudge are sad to see her go.

Henry and Mudge and the Careful Cousin 著者 : Cynthia Rylant 発売日 : 1994 ブクログでレビューを見る»

歴史と現代が調和するコンパクトCity”熊本市”を巡る

Today we watched the beginning of a video about Kumamoto. The video is in English, and it's about 10 minutes long. We only watched about one minute or so. The two hosts are one man whose name I've forgotten and a woman called Nita. I think the man was probably Australian and the woman Finnish or Swedish. The video seemed to be from a series made by people based in Fukuoka who make videos about Kyushu. They told us how to get to Kumamoto from Fukuoka and they showed us Kumamoto Station, Shimotori arcade, and Suizenji. They wore a kimono to Suizenji. It looks rather interesting, so I look forward to watching the rest.
(114 words)

The Old Man & the Gun, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for The Old Man & the Gun, a true story about a man who was addicted to robbing banks. The staff at the banks that he robbed all said that he seemed friendly, but he also had a gun. It is said to be the last movie starring Robert Redford. You may know his name from movies like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Natural, Sneakers, A River Runs Through It, The Sting, and recently some of the Marvel movies. In addition to being an actor, he was also a movie director and the founder of the Sundance Festival.

I went to Osaka last weekend for a seminar, and also saw The Old Man & the Gun there.

[123 words]

End of the semester

Before next week, please:

• Study your self-introduction/homestay letter, so that you can write it again without any notes.
• Write any missing posts, or extra posts that you would like included in your grade.
• Make sure that your different kinds of posts have appropriate tags (labels).
• Make a note of the total number of posts you have written, as well as the number of book reviews.

Midnight Run: sentences and mindmap frame

Everybody Knows, and other matters…

Javier Bardem
Penelope Cruz

Today we saw the trailer for Everybody Knows, a movie starring Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem. A family gets together in the countryside, but someone is kidnapped. I didn't really understand the story from the trailer, but it looks very interesting.

The Wimbledon tennis tournament is coming to an end. The men's singles has reached the semifinals, and the women's singles has reached the final. In the women's singles, Simona Halep will play Serena Williams. In the men's semifinals, Rafael Nadal will play Roger Federer, and Djokovic will play Roberto Bautista Agut. I have never seen him play, but the other players are all very famous.

105 words

Midnight Run, and other matters…

Robert De Niro: Jack (bounty hunter)
Charles Grodin: Jonathan Mardukas (The Duke) (accountant for the Mafia)
Jimmy Serrano: Mafia boss
Eddie: bail bondsman

Today we watched the trailer for Midnight Run, a movie starring Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin. Charles Grodin plays an accountant (The Duke) who was working for a mafia company but stole lots of money from them. Now, the mafia want to kill him, and the FBI want to arrest him so that they can get evidence to arrest the mafia members. Jack (Robert De Niro) is a bounty hunter. A bail bondsman hires Jack to catch The Duke, because he has run away. Jack has to keep him away from the FBI and the Mafia, and try to get the Duke back to Los Angeles in 72 hours, in order to get money from the bail bondsman.

On another note, I think the Wimbledon semifinal between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer is on TV tonight. It should be very exciting!

141 words