A Tale of Love and Darkness, Star Wars: Episode 2, Black Swan, and other matters…

Today, we saw three movie trailers: A Tale of Love and Darkness, Star Wars: Episode 2—Attack of the Clones, and Black Swan. What they all have in common is that they star Natalie Portman, and she is also a writer and the director of the first one.

In English football news, Sam Allardyce has been appointed the new manager of the national team. I am glad that an Englishman has been appointed, because in recent years English managers haven't been getting top jobs. Allardyce did well at Sunderland last year, and maybe he will be good at understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the players and finding ways to play against stronger teams but still get good results. England will play their first friendly match on September 1st, against Croatia.

The Premier League season will start in a few weeks, and many teams now are on tour, playing friendly matches. Manchester City and Manchester United both went to China and will play each other tonight, I think. They want to get back to England as soon as possible in order to get some rest and do some training in preparation for the new season.

[192 words]

A Tale of Love and Darkness, Black Swan, and other matters…

Today, we saw two movie trailers featuring Natalie Portman. The first was A Tale of Love and Darkness, in which she stars and which she also directs. I believe it's the first movie that she has directed. It's about the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. It appears to be all in Hebrew with English subtitles. It's starting on August 19th in America. I guess it will come to Japan sometime.

The other is an older movie starring Natalie Portman, Black Swan, for which she won an Academy Award. As you probably know, it's about a ballerina, Nina, and her relationship with the director of the company and with Lily, another dancer in the company.

Natalie Portman has appeared in quite a few movies, such as Léon: The Professional and the second Star Wars trilogy. I like her, but I didn't think her performance in Black Swan was that special. I'm looking forward to seeing A Tale of Love and Darkness.

[161 words]

Florence Foster Jenkins, and other matters…

Today we saw the trailer for Florence Foster Jenkins, a new movie starring Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant. It looks like a very good role for Hugh Grant. I took a look at the Denkikan schedule, and it looks like there are no plans to show the movie for a while.
The Premier League season kicks off on August 13th. Both Manchester United and Manchester City have been spending lots of money on new players. Chelsea also has a new manager and has been buying players. Leicester City has lost two of its top players, so many people predict that the traditional leaders will get back on top this coming season.
Did everyone see Theresa May's first speech as the new Prime Minister of the UK? Her cabinet appointments seem to suggest otherwise, but she says she wants a more inclusive style of government.

142 words

Missouri (1): History

When Thomas Jefferson was president, in 1803, the United States made the Louisiana Purchase, buying a lot of land from Napoleon in France. Missouri was part of that purchase. It became a trading center, mainly for trading furs with Native Americans, and many people there became rich. Its location on the Mississippi was very important in that regard. It also became the "Gateway to the West", as many people started from there on expeditions to the West. In the 20th century, Missouri experienced rapid industrialization and then deindustrialization in the last decades.

Florence Foster Jenkins, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Florence Foster Jenkins, a movie based on a true story about a woman who was a terrible singer but believed she was talented. Florence Foster Jenkins is played by Meryl Streep and her husband is played by Hugh Grant. The movie looks like a lot of fun, but I don't know if it will ever come to Kumamoto.
Even though the Euro 2016 competition has just finished, the newspapers in England are full of football news. Some of the big clubs have brought in very famous managers and are spending big money on new players. Leicester City, last season's champions, have lost two of their big stars.

Britain now has a new Prime Minister, Theresa May. Her first speech as Prime Minister was very encouraging, but no-one knows how the negotiations to leave the EU will go.

141 words

Jason Bourne, Wimbledon 2016, Euro 2016, and other matters…

Today we watched a trailer for the new movie in the Bourne series, called simply Jason Bourne. As you probably know, the Bourne series movies started in 2002 with The Bourne Identity. It was a new kind of spy movie. That movie was followed quickly by The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum. Because it was so successful, the producers wanted to continue the series, but Matt Damon said he wasn't interested in continuing in the role, so they created a new character played by Jeremy Renner for The Bourne Legacy. That was only moderately popular, so this time, 14 years after the first Bourne movie, they brought back director Paul Greengrass and persuaded Matt Damon to reprise his role.
The Bourne Identity also exists as a TV series, adapted from the book.

132 words

Jason Bourne, Wimbledon final, Euro 2016 final, and other matters…

Today we watched two trailers for Jason Bourne, the fifth movie in the Bourne series. Matt Damon said he wouldn't return after the original trilogy, so he was replaced by Jeremy Renner for The Bourne Legacy. It is good to see him back. Julia Stiles is also back. Two new faces are Tommy Lee Jones and Alicia Vikander, who has become a top star in the last year or two.

The two trailers were the standard US trailer and the UK trailer. I couldn't spot any differences between them; I guess I'll have to see them again.

There are two major sports stories: Portugal won Euro 2016, and Andy Murray won Wimbledon!

[110 words]

Monty Python and the Holy Grail: The Tale of Sir Robin; The Black Knight…and other matters

Brave, brave, brave, brave Sir Robin

That is one line from The Tale of Sir Robin, a famous sketch in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, my favorite movie by Monty Python's Flying Circus. Sir Robin manages to avoid the three-headed knight by running away while the knight is talking to itself. The movie was made in 1975 but still feels fresh today. Another movie by Monty Python is Life of Brian, also highly recommended.

The quarterfinals of Euro 2016 have almost finished. By tomorrow we will know all the semifinalists. I think that Germany will probably be the champion in the end. What do you think?

The cinemas in Kumamoto have been closed for a long time. I wonder when they will open again? Lots of interesting movies have been announced recently, but maybe we won't have a chance to see them.

[140 words]

Olympic Hide-and-Seek, and other matters…

Today we watched a sketch by Monty Python's Flying Circus. It was the Olympic Hide-and-Seek sketch, one of my favorites, though not one of the most famous. It shows the second leg of the Hide-and-Seek final, between a British hide-and-seek "athlete" and one from Paraguay. The time that the Paraguayan has to beat to win in the final is more than 11 years.

The political situation in the UK is becoming rather chaotic. The Prime Minister has announced his resignation, and now several members of the Conservative Party are campaigning to become the next leader of the party (and thus, automatically, the next Prime Minister). At the same time, most of the Members of Parliament in the Labour Party have voted no confidence in the Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn. Scotland's leader is also considering whether to try to leave the UK and join the EU separately.

In Euro 2016, Wales, France, and Germany have got through to the semi-finals. The last semifinalist will be decided tonight.

[165 words]