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.