Academy Awards 2014

The 86th Academy Awards are due to be held on March 2nd, 2014. It's always fun to watch the show or read the critics' opinions, but unfortunately most of the movies have not yet been released in Japan, so we cannot really take part in the debate. At least we can watch the trailers, and today we watched three trailers of movies that are expected to be nominated for one or more awards. (Actual nominations will be announced on January 16th.) We watched one movie by an old hand, Martin Scorcese (Wolf of Wall Street, featuring Leonardo DiCaprio), and two movies by younger directors, John Wells and Alfonso Cuaron. The John Wells movie is August: Osage County and the Alfonso Cuaron movie is of course Gravity.

Wolf of Wall Street (Martin Scorcese)
August: Osage County (John Wells)
Gravity (Alfonso Cuaron)

Academy Awards 2014

The Academy Awards are lots of fun, but the fun is diluted in Japan because most of the nominated movies still haven't been shown here. Two exceptions this time around are Captain Phillips and Gravity. Although it's no substitute for seeing the actual movies, of course, today we watched trailers for four of the movies: the aforementioned Gravity (directed by Alfonso Cuaron), Nebraska (directed by Alexander Payne), August: Osage County (directed by John Wells), and 12 Years a Slave (directed by Steve McQueen).



Gravity: Alfonso Cuaron (George Clooney, Sandra Bullock)
Nebraska: Alexander Payne (Bruce Dern)
August: Osage County: John Wells (Meryl Streep
12 Years a Slave: Steve McQueen

Mandela, Maleficent, and other matters

Today we watched two movie trailers. They were Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom and Maleficent. Maleficent is the name of the witch in Sleeping Beauty, and the movie is a retelling of that tale.

The FIFA Club World Cup is coming to an end. The final, between Raja Casablanca and Bayern Munchen, will be held tonight. Bayern is a very powerful team, so nearly everyone expects them to win. I'm looking forward to the match very much!

Mandela, Maleficent, and other matters…

Today, we saw no fewer than two movie trailers. The first one was Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, starring Idris Elba, and Naomie Harris as Winnie Mandela. The second was Maleficent, starring Angelina Jolie. As you can probably imagine, Mandela is about the life of Nelson Mandela, and Maleficent is related to Sleeping Beauty, focusing on the villain. Beside Angelina Jolie in the title role, the movie also stars Imelda Staunton and Elle Fanning. 

The FIFA Club World Cup final is scheduled to be held early tomorrow morning, I believe. I'm looking forward to seeing Bayern play!

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and…

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a Level 2 book in the Penguin Kids series of graded readers. As a level 2 book, it contains only 235 words, and is super-easy to read.
Snow White is very popular these days, with 2 movie versions having been released recently. I enjoyed Snow White and the Huntsman, with Kristen Stewart. You can watch an interactive trailer for the movie.

Edge of Tomorrow, The Legend of Hercules, and other matters…

Today we saw two movie trailers. They were Edge of Tomorrow, and The Legend of Hercules. Edge of Tomorrow is a science fiction movie starring Emily Blunt (of Salmon Fishing in the Yemen fame) and Tom Cruise. The Legend of Hercules tells the Hercules (Heracles) story in a modern way. Both look pretty exciting. The Legend of Hercules is starting in January in the US, while Edge of Tomorrow is scheduled to start playing in June. In Japan, that probably means summer and autumn starts, respectively.

Edge of Tomorrow, The Legend of Hercules, and other matters…

Today we watched no fewer than two trailers. The first one was Edge of Tomorrow, starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt. Most recently, I've seen Emily Blunt in Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, in which she costarred with Ewan McGregor. She was great in that film, so I'm looking forward to seeing her again. The film is due to come out in the States in June next year, so probably it will be a late summer feature in Japan. Its tagline is "Live. Die. Repeat."

The other trailer was The Legend of Hercules, starring lots of actors that I've never heard of before. It starts in Hercules' youth when he is still just a human, and gives us a look at how he gets special powers. It looks pretty exciting. It's beginning in January in the States, so I'm guessing it will come to Japan in spring.

Reminders

3rd & 4th movie essay deadlines

• December 20th
• January 10th!!

Make-up class

• Saturday, December 21st (usual time)
• Tuesday, January 14th (C class only!!!)

Drive Into Danger

"Where's Gary?" says Mark. "He isn't usually late. The truck is ready. Everybody's waiting."

Drive into Danger is a book in the Oxford Bookworms series. It is at Starter level, so it is very easy to read. But the story is quite exciting! Gary Slater, the driver, has a mysterious injury one day, so Kim (who has a truck driver's licence) and Andy (who speaks French) offer to take some tables to France in his place. But what they don't know is what other kind of cargo the truck is carrying!

Divergent, and other matters

Today we watched the trailer for Divergent, a movie due to begin next year. It's a science fiction movie set in the near future, when everyone undertakes a psychological test when they are teenagers, and are divided into five types of personalities. The heroine of the movie, played by Shailene Woodley, takes the test and is told she doesn't belong to any of the five types. In other words, she is "divergent". That appears to be a problem for the society and she has to run away in order to survive, and she joins a resistance movement.
I don't know much about the movie, or the original story (written by Veronica Roth), but I was attracted by the presence of Kate Winslet in the movie.

Dead Man's Money and Bonnie & Clyde

Dead Man's Money is a very entertaining but easy book in the Oxford Bookworms series, Starter level. It focuses on a gang of bank robbers in the 1930s, when the Great Depression hit America, and many people were very poor and turned to crime. You may have heard of the reallife gang Bonnie & Clyde. Anyway, please check out Dead Man's Money!

Dead Man's Money

"We want the money, Cal. Eddie's money."
"What? Who's Eddie?

Dead Man's Money is an Oxford Bookworms Starter, written for learners who know only about 250 words. It's written as a cartoon and is very easy to understand, but also very entertaining. It's about 3 bank robbers in the 1930s, one of whom dies. The other two want to recover his share of the money, but some other people are also interested in the money.

As you may know, the 1930s in America is famous for the Great Depression. Poverty meant that there were many people who turned to crime. The bank robbers in the story were some of those people. Others were Bonny & Clyde, whom you can see in a Hollywood movie.

listen to ‘Dead Man's Money’ on Audioboo

Island of Lemurs: Madagascar, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Island of Lemurs: Madagascar. To tell you the truth, before I watched it, I thought it was going to be an animated movie in the Madagascar series. In fact, it is a documentary about lemurs, a kind of primate that lives only on Madagascar, and which is said to be close to extinction.
These days haven't been very enjoyable, because I have had a bad cold and cough. I went to see the doctor last Wednesday, but the medicine hasn't been so effective, so I'm planning to go again this afternoon. I hope to get better soon, so that I can finish off all my work before the winter holiday, and also go and see some interesting movies, e.g., Red 2, and Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

Captain Phillips, and other matters…

Captain Phillips is a movie directed by Paul Greengrass, who also directed the second and third Bourne movies and United 93. To tell you the truth, although I like all the Bourne movies, I think Greengrass's style wasn't so good in those movies: it made me feel tense as I watched the movie, but my memory of the movies was not as good as that of the original Bourne movie. However, in Captain Phillips and United 93, he is a little more restrained, with the result that the movie is tense but also satisfying.

Another movie coming soon is the 47 Ronin. It looks like it's pretty exciting!

Captain Phillips, and other matters…

We just saw a trailer for Captain Phillips, the new movie starring Tom Hanks. It is based on a true story, which is told by Captain Phillips himself in his book, A Captain's Duty. In the story, the captain's ship is boarded by four pirates, and the captain nearly loses his life.

Captain Phillips is playing now. Another movie that is coming soon is 47 Ronin. That movie stars Keanu Reeves, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ko Shibasaki, and Rinko Kikuchi. It looks like a very fantastical interpretation of the well-known story.

Perseus

Hey, everyone, please check out my latest podcast episode. It's about the Oxford Dominoes book, Perseus.

listen to ‘Perseus (Oxford Dominoes Quick Starter)’ on Audioboo

Perseus (Dominoes Quick Starter)

Perseus is the son of Danae, Princess of Argos, and the god Zeus. He is sent by Polydectes to bring back the head of Medusa, a she-monster with snakes for hair.

Can Perseus find and kill Medusa? And what happens after he goes back to Seriphos?

I like Greek myths, and there are so many of them that I don't know well. I recommend this book to all of you!

Weather, and other matters…

The weather is not so good today, and there was a major traffic jam on the way to school. But maybe it's stopped now? (We cannot see outside, so I'm not sure.) The weather forecast is rain for the next few days.

Movies coming up soon include Captain Phillips (based on a true story) and Yip Man: the last fight (I'm not sure of the title, but this is about the Kung Fu master and it's loosely based on a true story). The second Red movie is also approaching. I hear it's not as good as the first one, but I'm still hoping to see it.

Movies

Just a reminder on the movie essay deadlines. The second one is coming up!

• November 8th
• November 29th
• December 20th
• January 10th

Also, please make sure that you have an up-to-date word count on your blog for next week's class!

Rain, and other matters…

It's raining today. I found it very difficult to get up this morning, and then the traffic was terrible on the way to school. It is so different from the weather last week in Spain, where it was a little cold in the early morning and evening, but very pleasant during the day and generally sunny. I was at the conference most of the time, but I had a half day free at the end of the conference and before my trip back, so I had a look around the city. It was very beautiful, so let me show you some of the photos!

Seville

I've just been looking into the cathedral in Seville. Wikipedia says it is the largest in the world.

Seville Cathedral

I haven't yet checked where the cathedral is in Seville, so I don't know whether I will have time to visit there.

I found some interesting information about the weather in November. I haven't digested all the information yet, but it looks like it will be cool but not cold most of the time.

Court of the Oranges

I like this poem:

A B C
A B C D
A B C

What do you think? It's by William Shakespeare.

Seville

Next week, I will be in Spain, to speak at a conference and chair a session there. The conference is in Seville. I arrive the day before the conference and leave the day after, so I won't have much free time. But hopefully I'll be able to visit one sightseeing spot while I'm there. I'm also looking forward to eating Spanish food, which is my favourite cuisine in the world.

It seems that the Alcazar palace is the most famous spot there. I hope it's near the hotel, which is also the conference site. Luckily, it looks like the weather will be quite pleasant, although a little cold at night and in the early morning.

Some details of Police Academy

Police Academy, a 1994 comedy directed by Hugh Wilson, stars Steve Guttenberg as Carey Mahoney, a police cadet. His fellow cadets are Karen Thompson (Kim Cattrall) and Moses Hightower (Bubba Smith).
At the beginning of the movie, the mayor decides that there aren't enough police officers to stop the crimes in the city, so the Police Academy doors are opened to everyone.

Language for movies

Cast and Staff

1. Much Ado About Nothing was directed by Kenneth Branagh.
2. Much Ado About Nothing is a 1993 movie.
3. The 1993 movie Much Ado About Nothing was directed by Kenneth Branagh. (1 + 2)
4. Kenneth Branagh's 1993 movie Much Ado About Nothing is based on Shakespeare's play of the same name.
5. The movie stars Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Denzel Washington, Robert Sean Leonard, and Kate Beckinsale.
6. The movie is passionate and exciting.
7. The movie, which stars Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Denzel Washington, Robert Sean Leonard, and Kate Beckinsale, is passionate and exciting. (5 + 6)
8. (3 + 5) The 1993 movie Much Ado About Nothing was directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also stars, along with Emma Thompson, Denzel Washington, Robert Sean Leonard, and Kate Beckinsale.
9. (3 + 5) In the 1993 movie Much Ado About Nothing, director Kenneth Branagh stars alongside Emma Thompson, Denzel Washington, Robert Sean Leonard, and Kate Beckinsale.

Story

1. The movie begins with the arrival of a messenger announcing the imminent arrival at Leonato's estate in Messina of Don Pedro (played by Denzel Washington) of Aragon. Leonato (British TV and movie star Richard Briers) and Don Pedro clearly have affection for each other, and Leonato welcomes Don Pedro and his army to stay for "at least a month".

November

November is coming soon, and it looks like we're going to get some real autumn-like weather at last!

Now you see me, and other matters

Now You See Me is a movie starring Woody Harrelson and Jessie Eisenberg. It's called "Grand Illusion" in Japanese. It's about four magicians who, at the beginning of the movie, don't know each other, but they are called together by another, secret magician to do a very large-scale series of tricks, which includes robbing a bank. The police are at a loss to understand how they are doing these tricks. The magicians' final show is very entertaining.

2C movies

• Much Ado About Nothing
• Edward Scissorhands
• Spiderman
• Police Academy

DEADLINES FOR COMPLETING MOVIES

• November 8th
• November 29th
• December 20th
• January 10th

Please write the essays in the order you watch the movies.

Send the essays as Microsoft Word documents to rick dot kgu @

DO NOT USE THE CENTURY FONT!

You should write as much about each movie as possible on your blog before writing/assembling the essay.

2A movies

E.T.
The Shawshank Redemption
The French Connection or Midnight Run
Much Ado About Nothing

DEADLINES FOR COMPLETING MOVIES

• November 8th
• November 29th
• December 20th
• January 10th

Please write the essays in the order you watch the movies.

Send the essays as Microsoft Word documents to rick dot kgu @
DON'T USE THE CENTURY FONT IN YOUR ESSAY!

You should write as much about each movie as possible on your blog before writing/assembling the essay.

Movie language

Basic information

• The main character in this movie is Popeye, played by Gene Hackman.
• This movie stars Gene Hackman as Popeye.
• This movie features Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider.
• Much Ado About Nothing was directed by Kenneth Branagh.
• Much Ado About Nothing, directed by Kenneth Branagh, is a 1993 adaptation of the William Shakespeare play of the same name.
• The Spielberg-directed 1982 masterpiece E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial stars Henry Thomas and Drew Barrymore.
• French Connection is a 1971 film/movie starring Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider.
• French Connection is a 1971 Academy Award-winning movie, directed by William Friedkin and starring Gene Hackman, about New York City police detectives trying to track down the source of heroin shipments.

Plot, Story

• In this movie, Popeye hunts down the source of heroin shipments coming into the US from Europe.
• This movie features Gene Hackman as Popeye hunting down the source of heroin shipments coming into the US from Europe.
• This movie concerns the hunt by Popeye, a New York City detective, for the source of heroin shipments.
• This movie involves two sets of lovers: Benedick and Beatrice (played by Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson) and Claudio and Hero (played by Robert Sean Leonard and Kate Beckinsale).

Setting

• The movie is set in Sicily, at a time when it was ruled by the kingdom of Aragon.

Setting and Plot

• The movie, set in Sicily at a time when it was ruled by Aragon, involves two sets of lovers.

My weekend

At the weekend, there was a workshop by Keiko Abe in Kumamoto about teaching English to children. I was unable to attend the actual workshop so I joined in the dinner the night before the workshop. Keiko Abe is the president of CALA, an organization that does many activities connected to teaching children. She is based in Atlanta, so she rarely gets to Kumamoto. In fact, the last time she came was about 16 years ago, when I attended her workshop.

Kyuukou & Hokou (2C only)

Sorry, but I will be away in the 2nd period next week (21st). I hope to do a make-up class on January 14th.

Kyuukou & Hokou (2A & 2C)

I will be away on November 18th, and I would like to do a make-up class on December 21st.

Midnight Run

Midnight Run is an American action comedy made in 1988. In the movie, a bounty hunter named Jack Walsh has to get an embezzler named Jonathan Mardukas to Los Angeles from New York in just a few days.

A Class: 2nd semester movies

• Much Ado About Nothing
• The Shawshank Redemption
• E.T.
• Midnight Run

Movies (2C)

1970's

• Huckleberry Finn
• Pygmalion
• Star Wars
• Jaws

1980's

• Little Mermaid
• Police Academy
• E.T.
• Midnight Run

1990's

• Much Ado About Nothing
• Ghost
• Titanic
• Jurassic Park
• Home Alone
• The Shawshank Redemption

21st century

• P.S., I Love You
• Spiderman
• Burlesque
• I Am Sam 愛編む修
• Mamma Mia!
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Animation

• Toy Story
• Aladdin
• Monsters Inc.

Romance/Drama

• 24 (????)
• You Got Mail
• Edward Scissorhands

Adventure/Action

• The Rock
• Leon

Movies

The autumn is usually a great time to watch movies, because the summer blockbusters come to an end, and there is more variety. One movie that is coming soon is Runaway, starring Robert Redford.

Movie Candidates

1970's

• The French Connection (1971) (98%)
• Jaws (1975) (98%)
• Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) (59%)
• Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) (95%)
• The Great Gatsby (1974) (37%)
• Moonraker (1979) (62%)

1980's

• Midnight Run (1988) (95%)
• Back to the Future (1985) (96%)
• Stand by Me (1986) (91%)
• E.T. (1982) (98%)
• Dead Poets Society (1989) (85%)

1990's

• Much Ado About Nothing (1993) (91%)
• Bodyguard (1992) (32%)
• The Truman Show (1998) (94%)
• The Shawshank Redemption (1994) (90%)
• Babe (1995) (97%)

21st  century

• Remember the Titans (2000) (73%)
• Perfume (2006) (58%)

Animation

• Up (2009) (98%)
• The Lion King (1994) (90%)

Adventure/Action

• Gladiator (2000) (77%)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (87%) (2005)
• Neverending Story (1984) (81%)
• Mission: Impossible (1996) (61%)

Romance/Drama

• Titanic (1997) (88%)
• Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) (88%)
• Larry Crowne (2011) (35%)

Today and tomorrow and…

Tomorrow morning, I am going to attend a seminar in Fukuoka, then I have to rush back to Kumamoto for a meeting. I also need to get my Mac's battery checked, so I'm going to go to Fukuoka today to visit the Apple Store. If I can get it seen to quickly, maybe I'll go to the library of Kyushu University as well. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my AppleCare paper, so maybe I can't get it seen to today without paying!

This weekend is international weekend in soccer. England will play two qualifiers for next year's World Cup in Brazil. I believe Japan is playing Serbia this Friday. Will there be a match next week?

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.

The Desolation of Smaug, and other matters…

Today we watched The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. It is part 2 of the 3-part Hobbit movie. As usual, the effects look impressive. There is of course a dragon, and the stars of The Lord of the Rings all appear: Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Ian McKellen, Hugo Weaving, and Ian McKellen. Martin Freeman, who plays Bilbo Baggins, is of course the major new star of The Hobbit.

Before class, I also watched the trailer for The Colony. It seems to be a combined science fiction/zombie picture. I'm not particularly interested in zombie pictures, but this one features Lawrence Fishburne (who you may know from The Matrix) and Bill Paxton, so I hope to see it.

Have you been watching the Confederations Cup? Japan lost all three matches and so left without a point and bottom of their group. Spain and Brazil went through without any problems, so the semi-finals will be between Brazil and Uruguay (26th), and Spain and Italy (27th).

The Nightingale (FFT)

At the palace, the nightingale sang and sang. The king loved the music so much that he cried. "I will buy you a fancy cage so you can sing for me always," he said.

So he did.

By and by, a present came from the king of Japan. Inside was a toy nightingale. It was made of gold and covered with jewels.

The toy nightingale makes the king forget what is really important!

Compulsion, and other matters…

Today we saw the trailer for Compulsion, a movie starring Heather Graham and Carrie-Anne Moss (of The Matrix fame). It seems to be a story about someone (played by Heather Graham) who has a food compulsion and needs someone to enjoy eating what she has cooked. When Heather Graham's neighbour, played by Carrie-Anne Moss, disappears, a police officer, played by Joe Mantegna, gets involved. It looks pretty interesting, but I don't know when it will come to Japan. In any case, it's good to see these two actresses again.

Cambridge English Readers

Check them out!

The Elves and the Shoemaker (FFT)

"Two elves have been making the shoes!" said the shoemaker.
"Did you see their tattered clothes? Let's make them some new ones to say thank you," said his wife.
All day, the shoemaker and his wife worked and worked. She made two tiny outfits. He made two tiny pairs of shoes.

The Elves and the Shoemaker tells the story of a shoemaker and his wife who are helped by two elves.

Killing Season, and…

Today, we watched the trailer for Killing Season. It's a new movie starring John Travolta and Robert De Niro. It's probably similar to many other movies, but I'm excited to see those two actors together, so I'll try to see it. I don't know when it's coming to Japan, though.

Two movies showing now are Olympus Has Fallen and Oblivion. Oblivion is a science fiction action movie starring Tom Cruise. Olympus Has Fallen is a thriller starring Morgan Freeman, Gerard Butler, Robert Forster, and Angela Bassett.

Henry and Mudge in the Family Trees

Henry suddenly felt nervous. So many relatives! What would they say? Would they be nice? Would they be friendly? Would they understand dog drool? Henry and Mudge got out of the car. Henry felt very shy.

Henry and Mudge have received an invitation to Cousin Annie's house. Henry and Mudge both like Cousin Annie very much so they are looking forward to the visit. But when they get there, there are so many people that they feel nervous. How does the visit go? Read Henry and Mudge in the Family Trees to find out!

Rylant, Cynthia. (1997). Henry and Mudge in the family trees. New York: Simon Spotlight.

The Heat, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for The Heat, starring Sandra Bullock. She plays an FBI agent who's very tough and effective but isn't liked by the other agents, so she's given a desk job. But she gets a new partner and things soon change…

This probably won't come to Japan until the end of the year, but I'll keep a look out for it.

Henry and Mudge and the Long Weekend

"Let's make a castle," said Henry's mother. "A castle?" said Henry and Henry's father. "We still have the box the new refrigerator came in, and the box the new stove came in."

In this way, a long, rainy, boring weekend changes into an exciting one where Henry hardly has time to eat. Do they manage to make a castle, and what does it look like? What does Mudge do while they are making the castle? Find out the answers to all these questions and more, in Henry and Mudge and the Long Weekend! This is the eleventh book of the adventures of Henry and Mudge. Look for the others!

Rylant, Cynthia. (1992). Henry and Mudge and the long weekend. New York, NY: Simon Spotlight.

The Heat, and more…

Today we watched The Heat, a comedy action movie starring Sandra Bullock. It looks pretty interesting, but I'm not sure when it's going to be released in Japan. There are lots of other movies on the iTunes movie trailer site that look interesting. Some of them that I took a look at yesterday are White House Down, Tiger Eyes, The Prey, and Wish You Were Here.

Movies playing at the cinemas now include Oblivion, The Grandmaster, End of Olympus, and many more!

Monsters University, and other matters…

Today, we watched the trailer to Monsters University, the new Pixar movie. It looks very exciting, and I think it's coming out in Japan in early July. Theree is lots of information available on this movie. Check out the movie page on the Disney site, the site of the actual university(!), the Facebook page, the info on comingsoon.net, and the trailers page on the iTunes Movie Trailers site.

Useful movie sites

Here are some useful movie sites:

1. The Internet Movie Database: This is a very big English-language database of movies and TV shows.
2. iTunes Movie Trailers: The database is not so big, but it shows us trailers and featurettes of upcoming and recent movies, usually in high-quality video.
3. allcinema Movie Database: This is a Japanese site that translates movie titles between English and Japanese, and also gives the date when the movie will start playing in Japan.

Monsters University, and other matters

This morning, we watched the trailer for Monsters University. It is of course the sequel to Monsters Inc, the 2001 movie from Pixar. Often, sequels are just moneymaking enterprises, but in the case of Pixar they're usually really good; I actually enjoyed Toy Story 2 and 3 more than the original Toy Story. I checked Monsters University on allcinema.net, and it looks like it's coming at the beginning of July.

Other movies coming soon in Japan are The Great Gatsby, Celeste and Jessie Forever, and Olympus Has Fallen. Olympus Has Fallen doesn't have such great reviews, but it looks pretty exciting!

Notes on Greece

Greek islands

retsina (wine flavored with pine resin)

• Lesvos: 
• castles of Kefalonia
• Heraklion (capital of Crete)

Literature

pine resin

• Iliad
• The Odyssey

Food and Drink

• fasolada: bean soup
• retsina: wine flavored with pine resin

The Great Gatsby, and other matters…

Today, we saw the 3rd Great Gatsby trailer on the iTunes movie trailers site. The design looks stunningly beautiful. Leonardo DiCaprio looks very good, as does Carey Mulligan. The movie is directed by Baz Luhrmann, who also directed Moulin Rouge and Romeo + Juliet. I heard in a review that Tobey Maguire reads some passages from The Great Gatsby aloud in the movie.

In football news, Bayern Munchen are now champions of Europe, after beating Borussia Dortmund in the final on Saturday night. I watched the first half, and Dortmund looked great, pressing very high up the field and shooting several times. Unfortunately for them, Bayern's goalkeeper, Neuer, was too good, and they weren't able to score in the first half, eventually tiring and leaving too many gaps at the back.

In America, Manchester City and Chelsea are touring. I think they played each other twice, Manchester City winning both matches.

Notes on Greece

The islands

1. Symi
2. Mykonos
3. Santorini
4. Tilos
5. Nas
6. Skyros
7. Corfu

olives and olive oil
goats and goat cheese
meat

1. lamb
2. poultry
3. rabbit
4. pork

drinks

1. fasolada: white wine flavored with pine resin
2. ouzo: anise liqueur

The Great Gatsby, and other matters…

We just saw a documentary on the costume design and production design in The Great Gatsby, the new Baz Luhrmann film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan. Check out the site! Note that this is not the first time that the book has been made into a film. Previously, Robert Redford and Mia Farrow starred in a big-screen adaptation. See a comparison of the two movies!

Quick Quiz

Write the English names of the elements represented by these symbols:

1. Cu = copper
2. Zn = zinc
3. Ag = silver
4. H = hydrogen
5. O = oxygen
6. Ca = calcium
7. Mg = magnesium
8. Au = gold
9. C = carbon
10. S = sulphur

The Jigsaw Puzzle

"Tell us where he is!" they shouted. The children were frightened, but they didn't say anything.
The soldiers looked everywhere, but they couldn't find Edmund's father. One of the soldiers found a sword.
"His sword is here," he said, "so he must be here somewhere."

The Jigsaw puzzle is a Stage 7 story in the Oxford Reading Tree series. This series is very popular in British primary schools. The Jigsaw Puzzle is probably set in the 17th century, and it features a king or other nobleman hiding and soldiers hunting him. Fortunately, the children come up with some good ideas to help the nobleman who is hiding.

Hunt, Roderick, and Brychta, Alex. (2003). The jigsaw puzzle. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

118 words

Don't look back in anger, and…

Today, we listened to Don't Look Back in Anger, one of Oasis's most famous songs. Oasis is a band that was formed in 1991 and lasted until 2009. The two most famous members were Noel Gallagher and Liam Gallagher. Another of their very famous songs is Wonderwall.

If you are interested in football, you probably know that Manchester United played their last match of the season yesterday. The result was a 5–5 draw with West Bromwich Albion. At the end of the season, the top 5 places are Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Tottenham, and the bottom five are Newcastle, Sunderland, Wigan, Reading, and QPR.

The Motorway (Oxford Reading Tree Stage 7)

Soon, big lorries and bulldozers came to the village. Nobody wanted the motorway. Everyone wanted to stop it, but the bulldozers began to dig.
Gran looked at the bulldozers.
"The motorway will spoil the countryside," she said. "Now we won't be able to walk in the woods and go on picnics."

The Motorway tells the story of Gran's fight against a motorway scheduled to be built through her village. Everyone is against the motorway but no-one has a good way of fighting against it. Everyone says that it has to be built somewhere. But Gran has an idea based on the kinds of flowers that can be found in the village.

Hunt, Roderick, and Brychta, Alex. (2003). The Motorway. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Common errors

• We went to shopping.  >> We went shopping.
• We went to trip.  >> We went on a trip.
• We listened a song.  >> We listened to a song.

Zombie, and …

We just listened to Zombie, a song by the Irish group The Cranberries. It was a very exciting song. Let me write the lyrics:

What's in your head, in your head,
Zombi, zombie, zombie - e - e - e

The last weekend of the Premier League is over. The top 3 and the 3 relegation spots had already been decided, so the most important match were the matches with Tottenham and Arsenal. Both teams won, so Arsenal, the team that were leading before the weekend, gets the 4th spot. That means they have a chance of playing in the Champions League next year, and Tottenham will miss out again.
Other important matches were Manchester United's last match with Sir Alex Ferguson in charge and Everton's last match with David Moyes in charge. Manchester United drew their match 5–5, the first time in Premier League history to have such a score. Everton lost.

Golden Week, Shadow Dancer, and …

An interesting movie that is playing now is Shadow Dancer. It is about the troubles in Ireland, set near the beginning of the 21st century. It is on for only 1 week at Denkikan in the city center. It stars Clive Owen, whom you may know from Children of Men, Inside Man, The Bourne Identity, King Arthur, or Closer.

As you may know, the Premier League has two major remaining dramas: who gets fourth place (and possible qualification for the Champions League), and who is the last team to get relegated. The top three are Manchester United, Manchester City, and Chelsea, and the bottom two are QPR and Reading. The last relegation place looks like it will go to Wigan, but there are still a couple of other possibilities. Fourth place will be either Arsenal or Tottenham Hotspur.

Golden Week and other matters…

 In Golden Week, I was working almost every day, but I did manage to get one day off to go out with my family. We didn't want to go too far because of the traffic, so we went to Jizou Touge in Aso. That area has many different walking courses, the longest of which goes straight down the mountain to a railway station and is just over 10 km. We didn't want to walk so far, so we took a shorter course of about 4 or 5 km in the Suntory woods.

If you are interested in football, you have probably heard that both Manchester United and Manchester City will have new managers next season. At Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson is retiring after 27 (?) years, and at Manchester City Roberto Mancini is being replaced by the manager of Malaga, Manuel Pellegrini. Since Chelsea's interim manager, Rafael Benitez, has been hired only until the end of the season, that means that all three of the top three teams will have new managers. Everyone wonders who will be at Chelsea.

Some common errors (France essays)

France is motherland of many fashion brand. For example, Louis Vuitton, CHANEL, Cloe, Hermes and so on.

I'd like to introduce about the south of France.  >>


Renault is French car company.    >>


There are many great sightseeing spot in France.  >>


The population of France is about 65million,about half that of Japan.  >>


If you go to France, you should visit to the Eiffel Tower.  >>


Napoleon built a lot of commemorative structure.   >>


France has many things of interest. Please search about them on the Internet.   >>


Many supermodels appear Paris Fashion Week.

France

France is a country in the west of Europe. Its capital is Paris. France's population is about 65 million, and its area is about 675,000.

France: keywords

• mustard (moutarde de Dijon)
• Paris
• Bordeaux (wine)
• L'Arc de Triomphe
• La Tour Eiffel
• Champs Elysees
• Bretagne (cider/cidre, crepes)
• Champagne (champagne)
• cognac
• jam 
• liqueurs and vermouths
• Peugeot: Peugeot is a famous car company, originally from Sochaux in France.
• Citroen
• very fast trains: France's TGV is the world's fastest train. It often travels at about 320 km/h.
• fashion
• Chanel
• Louis Vuitton
• Buoux: 
• South of France: 
• French bread: baguette, couronne, batard, pain de campagne, boule, brioche,  (34 words)

batard

pain de campagne

couronne

Iron Man 3, and…

Today we watched the trailer for Iron Man 3. This movie is the sequel to Iron Man 2, which was the sequel to Iron Man. The star of the movie is Robert Downey, Jr., and his secretary/girlfriend is played by Gwyneth Paltrow. I don't really know what Iron Man 3 is about, but it seems that this time he has an even stronger enemy than before.

This time of year is probably the best time of year for movies, as most of last year's films that won Oscars start playing in Japan. Two of the movies playing at Denkikan now are Anna Karenina and The Master. At Cineplex we can see Killing Me Softly, Library Wars, Lincoln, Rising Dragon (a Jackie Chan movie), and of course Iron Man 3.

Have you been following the Champions League? The German teams are very strong this year, and it looks as if the final will be between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern München. I hope we can see the final on Japanese terrestrial TV!

(168 words)

France

France is a major country situated in the west of Europe. Its area is about 675,000 square kilometers, about twice the size of Japan. Its population is about 65 million, about half that of Japan.

Key facts

• Chartreuse liqueur: a liqueur made since 1605. There are two kinds: yellow (jaune) and green (vert). The green one is too bitter, but the yellow one tastes great. It used to be drunk by monks for their health.
• Cointreau: The Cointreau distillery was made in 1849. The orange liqueur began in 1875, invented by Edouard Cointreau. It is bottled in a square-sided bottle. It contains both sweet and bitter orange peel.
• Grand Marnier: Grand Marnier has been made since 1880, from a secret recipe. The main ingredients are cognac and a kind of orange from the Caribbean
• 51 and Ricard
• Chambord: Chambord is a French liqueur made of black raspberries, made in the Loire valley, starting in the 17th century.
• Benedictine
• Suze
• Lillet: a wine-based aperitif containing wormwood
• Crème de framboise, mure, cassis

125 words

France

• Dijon mustard (moutarde de Dijon)
• Bordeaux (wine)
• Sagan
• Camus
• Sartre
• Guy de Maupassant
• Zinedine Zidane
• Thierry Henry
• L'Arc de Triomphe
• Palace of Versailles
• La Bastille
• The Louvre
• Notre Dame de Paris
• foie gras
• steak frites
• Peugeot
• Citroën
• Paris St Germain
• Chartreuse liqueur: a liqueur made since 1605. There are two kinds: yellow (jaune) and green (vert). The green one is too bitter, but the yellow one tastes great. It used to be drunk by monks for their health.
• Cointreau
• Grand Marnier
• 51 and Ricard
• Chambord: Chambord is a French liqueur made of black raspberries, made in the Loire valley, starting in the 17th century.
• Benedictine
• Suze
• Lillet: a wine-based aperitif containing wormwood
• Crème de framboise, mure, cassis
• Café crème
• fashion

92 words

Killing Me Softly, and…

Today we watched the trailer for Killing Me Softly, starring Brad Pitt. The Japanese title is Jackie Cogan. It's about an assassin who doesn't believe in anything but money and his own skill. I'm interested in this movie mainly for the actors. I think Brad Pitt is a good actor—his best role was in Moneyball—but the movie also stars Ray Liotta—famous mainly for Goodfellas—and Richard Jenkins. My impression is that this movie hasn't had as much publicity as movies like Lincoln and Iron Man 3, so probably it won't play for long at the theaters, so I want to try to get to see it soon.

In the Premier League, Arsenal played Manchester United yesterday. Manchester United have already been confirmed as champions so the result didn't matter so much to them, but Arsenal needed a win to have the best chance of qualifying for next year's Champions League. The match ended in a draw, 1–1.   My prediction is that Tottenham and Chelsea will qualify, but not Arsenal.

English common errors (2)

What's wrong with this?

I like listening to music .My favorite kinds of music are progressive rock ,J-Pop ,and modern koto music .

The Master, and…

Today, we watched the trailer of The Master, a movie directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. It stars Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix. It has just started playing at Denkikan, perhaps the only independent cinema left in Kumamoto. Paul Thomas Anderson previously directed Magnolia, which I think was a great movie, and he is often considered to be one of the greatest directors of modern American cinema. The Master appears to be about the relationship between the two men played by Hoffman and Phoenix. Hoffman plays the leader of a religious cult, and Phoenix is a soldier coming back from a war and looking for a purpose.

At the weekend, there were a couple of exciting matches in the English Premier League. Tottenham Hotspur beat Manchester City 3–1, and Chelsea drew with Liverpool 2–2.

The Place Beyond the Pines, and…

We watched the trailer for the movie The Place Beyond the Pines this morning. The movie stars Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper. Ryan Gosling was in Blue Valentine and The Notebook (which, unfortunately, I didn't see) and was perhaps the biggest star of 2010-11, while Bradley Cooper attracted a lot of attention with his work in 2012.
To tell you the truth, I don't like Bradley Cooper very much, but I haven't yet seen his 2012 hit, Silver Linings Playbook (which I think won a few Oscars), because I don't think it has yet started playing in Japan. I also don't really understand the attraction of Ryan Gosling, but maybe that's because I have only seen him in The Driver. I have heard that he believes he has played in too many movies, so he's going to take a break from acting for a while.
Talking of movies, I'm looking forward to Matt Damon's latest film, Promised Land. Apparently, it's an environmental drama about the people of a small town fighting against an oiling company.
(173 words)

English common errors (1)

What's wrong with this?:

I especially like Western music. For example, U2 and Oasis.

Please write your corrected version in the comments!

BR 1-02: The Little Red Hen

"Who will help me plant the wheat?" "Not I," said the cat. "Not I," said the duck. "Not I," said the rat."…"Who will help me eat the bread?" said the little red hen. The cat, the duck and the rat jumped up.…"I'll eat the bread."

The Little Red Hen is an old folktale, probably from Russia. It points out that many people are unwilling to work, but they want to share in the benefits of others' hard work.

This book is in the Usborne First Reading series (level 3) so the sentences are very short and it is very easy to read. Repetition of the key phrases makes it very rhythmic and even easier to read.


Davidson, Susanna. (2006). The little red hen. London, UK: Usborne.

BR 1-01: Pinocchio

All of a sudden, the puppets stopped acting and stared into the crowd. "Another puppet!" they cried. "Come up and join us." Pinocchio was dragged on stage and surrounded by puppets. They chattered about this and that and completely forgot their show… Then a scary man stormed onto the stage and everyone fell silent…He grabbed the puppets and marched them off.

What will happen to Pinocchio? Will be be saved from burning?

Pinocchio, Usborne Young Reading

Probably everyone knows the story of Pinocchio, probably from the Disney movie. The story was written by Carlo Collodi (1826–1890), an Italian writer. This version is in the Usborne Young Reading series. It's a Level 2 book, so it is fairly long (more than 60 pages) but easy to read. Pinocchio has many, many adventures, which you may not remember if you only saw the movie as a child. Here are some of the chapter titles:

• Fire!
• The fox and the cat
• Meeting a fairy
• The field of miracles
• Toyland
• Inside the shark 

I highly recommend that you borrow this book!

Collodi, Carlo. (2004). Pinocchio. London, UK: Usborne.

[174/512 words]

Welcome to Writing III!

Hello, everyone!

Welcome to Writing III. I'm Rick Lavin, and I'm looking forward to teaching you this year. I come from the UK. I like watching movies and playing table tennis.

Writing III is focused on writing fluency. What do I mean by that? Well, in speaking classes, I'm sure you are used to speaking without much preparation. When you do that, you often make mistakes. But you don't worry about the mistakes, because the main goal is to get other people to understand your meaning. Writing III is like that: our first aim is to be able to write quickly, so that we can communicate what we are thinking and what we have been doing to our readers.

In order to become more fluent in speaking, it is necessary to practice a lot. In the same way, it is necessary to practice writing a lot in order to become fluent at writing. Therefore, in this class, I'd like you to write 10,000 words during the semester.

As you know, you'll do your writing on your blogs. You'll be writing various kinds of posts, including:

• Book reviews: at least 1 a week, 13 for the semester [Tags: books, reviews]
• Essays: details later 
• General blog posts (as many as possible; at least one a week)
• Photo Homework (students going on Kaigai Kenshuu; other students optional): [Tag: photoHW]
• Juppun ha Juubun [Tag: Juppun ha Juubun] (Please copy the tag exactly!). If you are late, use Not Juppun ha Juubun.]
• Typing posts: Mr Tomei will be administering the typing homework. After you have done a typing homework, please paste the content into a new post and put it on your blog. [Tag: typing]

Your friends in this class and in the other classes also have blogs. You can find their blogs at the WinK Home site.

The general sequence of classes is as follows:

[A Class]

• 9:00~9:05: Logging in and getting ready to blog
• 9:05~9:15: Juppun ha Juubun (timed writing)
• 9:20~: Attendance + Main activities of the week

[C Class]

• 10:40~10:45: Logging in and getting ready to blog
• 10:45~10:55: Juppun ha Juubun (timed writing)
• 11:00~: Main activities of the week

[338]