Gold, and other matters…

And the only question I'm left with is: How did 17 billion dollars disappear overnight?

Since I have already written about this movie, I want to talk about movies playing now in Japan. A Bigger Splash stars Ralph Fiennes (from the Harry Potter series), Tilda Swinton (from Only Lovers Left Alive) and Dakota Johnson (from Fifty Shades of Grey). It will end its run this Friday. Everybody Wants Some is a Richard Linklater film about campus life that also ends its run this Friday. Remember is a movie about a forgetful old man who finds out about his wartime past. Another movie playing now is The Girl on the Train, starring Emily Blunt.

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Gold, and other matters…

"We've got a gold mine! We've got a gold mine!"

That is from the movie Gold, starring Academy Award Winner Matthew McConaughey and Edgar Ramírez. It's coming out this week in the US, though probably it won't arrive in Japan until the summer. It's based on a true story about a man who goes to Indonesia to mine for gold. He finds it and makes lots of money, but then there are some problems concerning the ownership of the gold. I had never heard of this story before watching this trailer, so I'm curious to find out what happens at the end.

And the only question I'm left with is: How can 17 billion dollars disappear overnight?

I wonder what happened to the gold?

Moving to movies that are actually playing now, I hope to see Everybody Wants Some, by Richard Linklater, and Girl on a Train. I'm not sure if I'll actually have the time, though, before Everybody Wants Some ends its run this week. I wish movies at Denkikan continued a little longer.

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Final Class!

1. Finish your essay on the Atama-ii books series.
2. Write your final Blog Stats post. Include your updated Juppun ha Juubun scores to show your progress over the year.
3. Prepare for the test (content below).

The test will consist of two parts as usual:

1. Your blog stats, such as number of words, number of posts, number of book reviews, etc. To prepare for this, the best way is to update your final Blog Stats post the day before the test. That will leave you more time for the second part of the test. During this part of the test, you can go online to check the figures.
2. An essay. The topic will be one of the topics covered in this semester's dictoglosses.* During this part, you may not go online, although you can use dictionaries (paper or electronic) if you like.

Possible essay topics in the exam:

• Freeters
• Cram schools
• Smartphones

Easy ways to improve your score in the last week

• Make sure you have finished your typing homework and posted all of it on your blog.
• Write more book reviews.
• Update your blog stats the day before the exam.

The Founder, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for The Founder, a movie starring Michael Keaton about the man who took over the McDonald's empire from the McDonald brothers. McDonald's started with one store in southern California, and Kroc turned it into an empire of 1,600 stores and annual revenue of 70,000,000 dollars.

I caught Rogue One last week before its run ended. It was kind of fun to watch but I didn't really feel satisfied after it ended. I hope that next year's installment, directed by Rian Johnson, will be better.

Arsenal and Liverpool are not having such a great time now, even though Arsenal managed to win in the end. It looks like Arsene Wenger will be banned.

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The Founder, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for The Founder, a movie starring Michael Keaton, about the founding of the burger franchise business McDonald's. It's about Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton), the man who tricked the McDonald brothers and took control of the McDonald's business, originally just one store in California. His first wife is played by Laura Dern.

In the Premier League, Chelsea won again. They're about 10 points ahead of everyone else now. It seems unlikely that anyone else can catch them, but Tottenham and Manchester United seem most likely.

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Everybody Wants Some, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Everybody Wants Some, a movie directed by Richard Linklater that is now playing at Denkikan, the downtown cinema that shows unusual movies. I think it's worth watching anything made by Linklater, as he always has an unusual angle on a story. Some of my favorite movies by him are the Before trilogy, consisting of Before Sunset, Before Sunrise, and Before Midnight. Those movies feature the same actors, Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke, playing the same characters over a period of 18 years. Unusually, all three films feature a lot of talking. I think everyone has heard of Boyhood, for which Linklater filmed a boy every year for 12 years.

Other films that are scheduled for the near future at Denkikan are Girl on the Train and A Bigger Splash.

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Brainstorm

You are a scientist. Do you use your new nanobot technology to help people…or to destroy the world?

Today, I read another Atami-ii book, Brainstorm by Andy Boon. In this story, I am a scientist who has
developed nanobots for medical use. I work with a surgeon to send nanobots into patients' brains and repair damage.

One day, I work on a patient who has brain cancer. But, as I am working, the nanobots start multiplying. I have to decide whether to stop the operation or to continue it. Then the doctor has a stroke, and I have to decide whether to wait for help or operate alone.


flash-freeze: 急速冷凍する

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Paterson, Lost in London, and other matters…

Today we watched two movie trailers. The first one was Paterson. It is about a man called Paterson who lives in a town called Paterson in New Jersey. He is a bus driver, and he writes poetry in his spare time. It is a very quiet movie about his daily life. It stars Adam Driver, who has a great reputation for his work in movies such as Star Wars: The Force Awakens and While We're Young.

The second trailer was Lost in London. That is a comedy by Woody Harrelson, starring himself and Owen Wilson. It is based on an episode in Woody Harrelson's life. It is a very unusual kind of movie, because it is one take over two hours and will be broadcast live into cinemas.

At Denkikan now, Richard Linklater's Everybody Wants Some is showing. After Boyhood and the Before/After Sunrise/Sunset/Midnight trilogy, I am interested in any movie that he makes, so I hope to find the time to see this movie. Denkikan has many interesting movies, so I recommend that you try to find the time to see some while you are students.

In the Premier League, Chelsea and Spurs won, while Manchester United and Liverpool drew, and Manchester City lost. It looks like Chelsea will win the league, while Liverpool, Spurs, and Manchester United are favorites for the other top-four spots.

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Going in Style, winter holiday plans, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailers for Going in Style and The Crash. Going in Style stars Alan Arkin, and The Crash stars Minnie Driver, two actors who featured in Grosse Pointe Blank. The other stars are Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine.

Yesterday, Arsenal lost at Manchester City. That makes two consecutive defeats. Usually, Arsenal have a bad month in November. This year, November went pretty well, but December is going badly. Many were surprised at this defeat because Manchester City have been having a bad period, too, losing many games. So now Manchester City are up in 2nd place, followed by Liverpool and Arsenal. Chelsea have a seven-point lead at the top, having won 11 games in a row.

Recently, I saw season 4 of Homeland. It is so exciting.

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Going in style, winter vacation plans, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Going in Style, a film starring Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and Alan Arkin. We all know Alan Arkin as Dr. Oatman from Grosse Pointe Blank. However, the other two actors are more famous. Morgan Freeman has been in more than 70 movies and TV programs over the last 20 years, including Invictus and the Batman movies. Michael Caine, born in 1933, is best known for his 1960's movies such as Alfie, Zulu, and The Italian Job, but he has appeared in many movies every decade since then, such as Get Carter, Educating Rita, Hannah and Her Sisters, and the Batman movies.
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War for the Planet of the Apes, and other matters…

Today we saw the trailer for War for the Planet of the Apes, a movie due to be released next summer that is the sequel to Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. In this movie, a violent colonel played by Woody Harrelson wants to kill all the apes so the apes, led by Caesar, are forced to fight back.

In the Premier League, Chelsea are solidifying their lead at the top of the table, while Liverpool and especially Manchester City are stumbling. Manchester City have won very few of their matches over the last month or so, and they are conceding many goals. Arsenal are 3 points behind Chelsea and doing well at the moment. Many commentators suggest that Manchester City will buy some new defenders in the January transfer window.

Manchester United are out of the top 4, but haven't lost for a long time, and the team seems to be settled now. Perhaps they will soon get back into the top 4 at the expense of Manchester City. The winter holiday is always a tough time in the Premier League so let's see what the situation is in January.

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Hidden Figures, and other matters…

Today we watched two different trailers for Hidden Figures, a movie about three black women who were involved with the space program at NASA, specifically the attempt to get astronaut John Glenn into orbit. The movie stars Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monae, and is directed by Ted Melfi. Taraji P. Henson plays Katherine Johnson, who calculated the trajectories of spacecraft. Octavia Spencer plays Dorothy Vaughn, a mathematician and computer programmer. Mary Jackson was an aerospace engineer. They had to overcome many obstacles to working in equality with the white people at NASA.

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Fences, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Fences, a movie starring Denzel Washington and Viola Davis. The movie is also directed by Denzel Washington.

I like Denzel Washington very much. One of the first movies of his that I saw was Malcolm X. Since then, I've seen many of his movies, including Training Day, Much Ado About Nothing, Flight, American Gangster, The Hurricane, Courage Under Fire, and Crimson Tide. I think he is a very magnetic and versatile actor. Recently he played a tough man in The Equalizer, and that is going to be followed by The Equalizer 2 the year after next.

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Jackie, and other matters…

Today we saw two trailers for Jackie, a new movie starring Natalie Portman about the wife of President John F Kennedy. It seems to be a very meditative film. I'm looking forward to it but I'm not sure when it will come to Japan.

Natalie Portman has had a mixed career. Everyone remembers her from Leon: The Professional, in which she played a hitman's 12-year-old apprentice. She then starred as Amidala in Star Wars episodes 1, 2, and 3, confirming her as a grown-up star. In between, she also appeared in Beautiful Girls and Everyone Says I Love You. After Star Wars, she appeared in movies such as My Blueberry Nights, V for Vendetta, and The Other Boleyn Girl, then Black Swan in 2010 won her an Oscar. Since then, A Tale of Love and Darkness and Jackie have allowed her to develop as an actor and director.

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Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and other matters…

Eddie Redmayne
J. K. Rowling
David Yates

Today we watched the trailer for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, a movie starring Eddie Redmayne (the Oscar-winning star of The Theory of Everything) and directed by David Yates, and based on a screenplay by J. K. Rowling. It looks pretty exciting, and it's starting in just two days' time, on a Wednesday rather than a Friday or Saturday because it's a national holiday.

At the weekend, Chelsea and Manchester City both won their matches, but Liverpool and Arsenal both were held to draws. At the moment, only Chelsea look really convincing, with Arsenal 😃😃😃 and Manchester City drawing too many games. Manchester United are quite a long way back; they are also drawing a lot of matches.

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Dictogloss 3: Model

In 2012, it was estimated that the number of smartphone users in Japan had surpassed the number of people using the older feature phones. It is easy to understand why more people are choosing to use smartphones when you consider the number of incredibly useful functions they offer. The main advantage that smartphones have over feature phones is their ability to run “apps”, or programs made by third-party developers. These can perform a huge range of tasks, from converting currencies and calculating stock prices to playing games and drawing pictures. Owning a smartphone means that you can install as many of these apps as you want, and many of them are free.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Star Wars: Rogue One, and other matters…

Today we watched two trailers, both for movies that are coming soon. The first one was Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the first movie in a new series by J. K. Rowling, starring Eddie Redmayne. It's a kind of spin-off from the Harry Potter series, featuring a former Hogwarts teacher who was fired. He never actually appeared in the books or movies, but was mentioned. Many critics were worried that the new movie wouldn't be very good, because it is located in New York and much of the Harry Potter charm comes from the British locations, but everyone says it is good. It is coming next week, so I am looking forward to it.

The second trailer was Trailer 3 for Star Wars: Rogue One. It is the first Star Wars movie that is not set in the same timeline as the major trilogies, and is called an anthology film, so it should be enjoyable for people who don't know Star Wars well. That is going to be released on December 16th.

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Rogue One, Ghost in the Shell, and other matters…

Today we saw two movie trailers, for Star Wars: Rogue One and Ghost in the Shell. Ghost in the Shell is a remake of the Japanese animation classic, starring Scarlett Johansson. I think I will check out the Japanese original before I watch this Hollywood version of the story.
Star Wars: Rogue One looks very exciting, and I am looking forward to seeing a movie that is not just a direct remake of the original Star Wars movies. The cast, including Felicity Jones, Forrest Whitaker, Donnie Yen, and Mads Mikkelsen, looks really good. I think there are already three trailers in circulation, so we have to be careful not to see too much of the movie before it is released in theaters!
Another interesting science fiction movie, coming next year, is Arrival, starring Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner.

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Campus festival, Arrival, Rogue One, and other matters…

Today we watched two movie trailers: Arrival, and Rogue One. Arrival is the new Dennis Villeneuve movie starring Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner. It is about the arrival of spaceships from another planet on Earth, and the attempts of Amy Adams, a linguist, to communicate with them. She is obstructed by the army, who believe that the aliens are enemies that they need to attack.

The Rogue One trailer was a new one, and it looked very beautiful. I'm a little worried that I've seen too much of the Rogue One movie before its release. In today's trailer, Trailer 3, Mads Mikkelsen was the main protagonist, and Forest Whitaker and Felicity Jones played less prominent parts.

This last weekend was an international weekend in football. England beat Scotland, but Wales drew with Serbia, and they may have problems qualifying for the World Cup.

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Rules Don't Apply, and other matters…

Warren Beatty
Annette Bening
Lily Collins
Martin Sheen

Today we watched the trailer for Rules Don't Apply, a romantic comedy starring Warren Beatty and Lily Tomlin. I enjoyed watching Lily Tomlin in Love, Rosie, even though its rating is very low on Rotten Tomatoes.

Right now, there are some interesting movies playing. Miracle on the Hudson is a straight, moving drama, based on a true story and starring Tom Hanks. Star Trek: Beyond is a well-made science fiction movie. Jason Bourne is a suspenseful action movie. All are very entertaining and well worth seeing. In December, the new Star Wars movie, Rogue One, will begin playing, on December 16th.

I heard that KGU will hold its campus festival this coming weekend. I hope it goes well!

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