Blog stats: Juppun ha Juubun

1st semester

1st time: 133 words
Last time: 95 words

2nd semester

1st time: 26 words
Last time: 197 words

My word count over the year increased from 133 words to 197 words. But, for some reason, I had a major dip in the middle (at the end of the 1st semester and the beginning of the 2nd semester).

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, Life of a King, and other matters…

Today we watched two movie trailers. They were Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit and Life of a King. I will talk about Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit first. This movie is based on a Tom Clancy book. There are several books about Jack Ryan, and some of them have been made into movies. Actors who have played Jack Ryan are Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, and Ben Affleck. This time, it's Chris Pine.

You may know Chris Pine. He's the actor from the movie that's called Black and White in Japan. It stars Chris Pine alongside Tom Hardy. They are rivals for the love of Reese Witherspoon. I think he's a good Jack Ryan, but it seems as if the series is changing into pure action rather than suspense.

The other movie, Life of a King, stars Cuba Gooding Junior. He is released from prison and ends up teaching in a high school. The students are very tough but he teaches them some new things through chess. He tells the students to focus on the "endgame" and to "think before you move". For him, chess is a metaphor for life.

Both of these movies look pretty interesting. Shadow Recruit begins on February 15th!



Keira Knightley
Kenneth Branagh
Chris Pine


Cuba Gooding Junior

Juppun ha Juubun figures

1st semester

1st time:
last time:

2nd semester

1st time:

last time:

Life of a King, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, and other matters…

Today, we watched two movie trailers again. The first one was Life of a King. When I saw the title, I thought it was about a foreign country's royal family, but actually it was about a man who gets out of prison and then gets a job in a school, where he teaches chess. One of his mentors in prison used to tell him to pay attention to the endgame, and that's the lesson he teaches his students. He thinks of chess as a metaphor for life, and he seems to be successful in teaching his students that. The movie stars Cuba Gooding Junior.

The second movie trailer was Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. Previous actors playing Jack Ryan have been Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, and Ben Affleck. This time, it's Chris Pine. I think with him it will be more of a pure action movie, which is not necessarily a good thing, but I do like him as an actor so I'm looking forward to this film. Other actors starring in the movie are Keira Knightley and Kenneth Branagh. Keira Knightley plays Chris Pine's wife and Branagh plays the Russian villain.


190 words


Kenneth Branagh
Keira Knightley
Chris Pine

Cuba Gooding Junior

January 20th, 2014: last class

The academic year is coming to an end! Some things to do in today's class:

1. Check your wordcount. If you haven't posted a recent wordcount, do so today! 
2. Have you done your recordings? We have some mics available. Help yourself!
3. Have you posted your typing homework to your blog? Go ahead today!
4. Have you posted your essays to your blog? You can post your original essay, and your edited version. At the bottom of your edited version, try posting something about any grammar or other points you have learned or made progress with.

This is your last easy opportunity to ask questions, so please don't waste your chance!

Before Midnight, The Nut Job, and other matters…

Today, we watched two movie trailers. Let me tell you a bit about them.

The first one was Before Midnight. It's a movie starring Ethan Hawke and Judie Delpy, directed by Richard Linklater. People who like romance probably have been looking forward to this for some time. You may have heard that it is the third movie in a very unusual series of movies. The first movie in the series was Before Sunrise, made 18 years ago. In that movie, the characters played by Ethan Hawke and Judie Delpy met for the first time. The second movie, made 9 years ago, was Before Sunset. And now Before Midnight is the third one, featuring the same two actors playing the same characters. The first two movies were great so I am looking forward to the new one very much. It starts at Denkikan this coming Saturday!!!!!

The Nut Job is an animated feature. I'd never heard of it before, but the trailer was hilarious. I don't know when it's coming to Japan, but I certainly want to see it.

The Outsider, The Invisible Woman, and other matters…

Today we watched two trailers at the beginning of class. The first one was about Charles Dickens and a young woman whom he loved but kept secret from the world. It stars Ralph Fiennes, Felicity Jones, and Kristin Scott Thomas. It looks very interesting, but I'm not sure when it's scheduled to appear in Japan.

The second one was called The Outsider. It stars a couple of actors who I haven't seen for a long time, Jason Patric and James Caan. Jason Patric was never a big star, but James Caan starred in The Godfather. It is difficult to see from the trailer what it's about, but it looks kind of exciting.

This month looks like it's going to be a good one for movies. The Great Escape is starting next weekend, and Behind the Cadelabra has already begun at Denkikan.

Reminder!

Final Movie Essay Deadline: January 10th!!!

Journey to the West, The Monuments Men, and other matters…

Today we watched two trailers at the beginning of class. The first one was Journey to the West, which is Xi You Ji in Chinese and Saiyuuki in Japanese. It looks like a comedy fantasy action movie. It looks a bit crazy but I want to see it! The other one was The Monuments Men. It stars Matt Damon, John Goodman, Bill Murray, George Clooney, and Cate Blanchette. It is based on a true story about a group of soldiers who go to Germany in the Second World War to save paintings that are due to be burned. With John Goodman and Bill Murray it looks almost certain to be funny!

The New Year holiday is now over, and it already seems far away! I didn't do anything special, but I had a good time relaxing. I went to Kengun Shrine on January 2nd and got a big bag of French fries on the way back. During the holiday, I also read a book called The Dying Light, by Henry Porter. But January looks like being a super-busy month, and it's super-cold.