映画上映会！『すずめの戸締り』 紫蘇ジュースをお供に…

映画上映会が開催されましたーー

和室でごろんして、プロジェクターで映し出した大画面で鑑賞する。至福の時間でしたわ。『すずめの戸締り』、なかなかよくできたアニメ映画だったな。内容は震災にも関わることでけっこう感情エネルギーを消費したのだが…絵柄は美しかったし、同じ作品を観て同じ時間を共有するって贅沢だなと思った。

「あー、二時間映画見ると疲れますよね」なんて言い合って。やっぱそうだよね…。

スタッフの方が作ってくれた紫蘇ジュース。本当に紫蘇を煮出して、砂糖とリンゴ酢を入れてジュースの原液にしていた。それを炭酸水で割ってさわやかな飲み物に。甘い飲み物はあまり飲まないけど、これは美味しかったな。みんな飲んで、あっという間に売り切れていた！

煮出した紫蘇は、油揚げと炒めておひたし的なものにして、それも美味しかった。

Everything, Everywhere, All At Once

It was an interesting movie... most of the casts are Chinese immigrants, and the story is all about them, so it's hard to understand what's going on without subtitles for their Chinese conversations.  The idea of a lot of different universes branch out based on the choices ou make in life, and 'verse jumping' enables you to travel between them.  There was a lot of actions, too.  It was quite chaotic and confusing as it doesn't follow a regular storyline (intro, problem happens, solved), and the main character, Evyline, travels between different verses and we don't know which one is 'real'.  Quite a concept.  I understand why it won the Academy Award.  

It may be hard to relate to for some Americans, because most of the conversations are in Chinese in the beginning, and the introduction is lengthy enough to make you wonder if it is really an "action & adventure" movie that it was touted to be.  Anyways, it was quite interesting to watch, despite, being, somewhat overwhelming.  

My earbuds for hearing protection worked greatly.  I will use them again whenever I will go to a cinema or a karaoke.

Harry Shun Jr. was on it!  He was on Glee as well, a really good dancer.  It was nice to see a familiar face there. 

台湾料理会 Taiwanese cuisine + shawarma feast

粉もの大得意のTK氏とともに、台湾料理の会を催しました！　

お品書き：魯肉飯（ルーローハン）、胡椒餅、シャワルマ、ピタパン

13時から19時くらいまで、作っては食べ、作っては食べ、合間にシャーロックホームズの映画を観つつ。楽しかった！！

We made Lurou fan, Hujiao bing, Chicken Shawarma, pita bread.  We were cooking and eating from 1 pm through around 7 pm.  It was a lot of work to make bread and bao from scratch, but they taste so good when freshly prepared.  Also watched Sherlock Holmes Game of Shadows, starred by Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law.  It was full of action, thrill, and adventure.  Some scenes reflected episodes from the original novel. It was interesting to see.  I never knew, but this Sherlock Holmes movie is 2011 and is a second one with Downey and Law.  The first one was in 2009. I want to check that out too. 

Lurou fan

Hujiao bing

Minced pork and beef seasoned with lots of black pepper and other spices.

Chicken Shawarma, pita bread

    

Opening the Earth - the Potato King

Watched a short documentary on potato farmers in a village in a high mountainous area in Peru.

There they are leading a self sustaining life growing potatoes, vegetables, and farm animals. The landscape is stunning with lush mountains, hilly gravel roads, and vast grassland that people trespass. 

For a long time western countries thought those villages are poor and need help. But they didn't see the richness that is not monetary - sure they don't have a lot of things, but their naturalistic lifestyle and strong community bonds are something that the western countries tend to overlook. 

I hope this documentary will help restore self esteem in the villagers and be proud again of their tradition. It's urgent - those villages are disappearing because too many young people are moving out to big cities. It's their choice, and I don't know if encouraging them to stay is another opposite way of intervention, but at least I hope they'll make a decision based on what they want, not because of what they are ashamed of. 

http://openingtheearth.com/

「マイ インターン」

ファッション系ベンチャー会社の社長、一児の母、仕事に追われる毎日も、専業主夫の助けもあって充実している…。そんな絵に描いたようなジュールズの成功人生にも、やっぱり悩みや苦しみ、うまくいかないフラストレーションもある。

彼女の会社で働く個性豊かな社員たちのやり取りも面白く、若い彼らが70歳のインターンのベンを慕う姿も微笑ましい。ベンのやさしいまなざしが素敵すぎる。人生の酸いも甘いもかみ分けて、それでも人間に対して失望していない人の眼だ。

睡眠よりも食事よりも、家族よりも仕事を優先するジュールズ。そんなジュールズの人生がなんとかうまくいくように、さりげなくサポートするベン。そして最後に待っていたのは…。

ワークライフバランスとか、家族のあり方とか、人として大切なこととか、いろいろと考えさせられた一作。70歳になったとき、こんな笑顔で、こんな余裕のある人になりたい。

これも飛行機の中で観て、うゅっ…と涙をこらえる。

映画「ANTARCTICA」

その名の通り、南極大陸の調査員たちの一年間を追ったドキュメンタリー映画。

南極はどの国にも属さない地球上の唯一の場所。気候や自然条件などの調査のため各国から調査員が来ていて、大部分の人は夏の間、少数の人たちは一年を過ごす。

プレハブよりは数段立派な基地に、ブルドーザーや砕氷船など、雪国の一通りの装備がそろっている。基地の中にはテレビも電話もあり、もちろんキッチンもあり、一見普通の寮と変わらない。まあしかし、冬一歩外に出れば、雪と氷と吹雪の世界で、周りには何もなく、孤立している。

日が沈まない夏、一日中暗い冬、幾重にも広がるオーロラのカーテン、よちよち歩くペンギンの群れ、匍匐前進して何とか海を目指すアザラシ（隊員は現地の動物を助けたり触れたりしてはいけない）、すさまじい風速の吹雪で、中に雪が入り込みカチコチになった重機など…　過酷ながらも美しいその世界。非日常的な空間。

一旦南極に着いてしまうと、半年あるいは一年間は帰れないため、家族の重大事に立ち会えないこともある。そんな状況を皆が共有しているので、チームの絆は非常に強い。協力しなければ、命にかかわることもある。暗い日が続き、外にも出られない冬なんかは、何か面白いことをしようと皆必死。

「なぜ南極なんかに行くんだ？ってよく聞かれる。でもそれは、行ったことのない人に説明するのは難しい。行った者にしか分からないんだ。」とある隊員。一年間の別世界での任務を終えて、自国に戻ったときの感慨は大きいだろう。浦島太郎ではないか。基地の周りは雪以外なかったのに、ビルビルビル、人人人、車車車、太陽がまぶしい！

南極に行きたいと思ったことはないが…。
人間模様のドキュメンタリーとして面白かった。
まあ、大量に重機やら資材やらを運び込んで、定住しなくても、地球上に一か所くらい、手つかずの、人間がいない場所があっても良いような気がするが。

「ウィークエンドはパリで」

結婚30周年記念に、新婚旅行先であるパリに戻ってきた夫婦。しかし、家族の問題やら、お金の問題、第二の人生の問題やら…、膝を突き合わせて話さないといけないことは多い。

人生って深い…。

イギリス在住の人のブログでも書いてあったが、欧米では真面目で一途な夫が奔放でワガママな妻に尽くすという構図が多いらしい。なぜ、この人を選んだの…？と思うことも多いとか。本作もそんな場面が結構みられる。日本と反対だなあと思う。その文化はいつから始まったのだろう？不思議だ～

ところで原題は"Le Week-end"で、英語でいうと「The weekend」なのだが、日本語タイトルは「ウィークエンドはパリで」になっていた。いつも思うけれど、日本語タイトルの方が内容を反映した具体的なものになる。「アナと雪の女王」もそうだ。原題"Frozen"（凍りついた）をそのまま訳した邦題だったら、ここまでのヒットにはならなかっただろう。私たちはタイトルから何らかの情報を得ることを期待する。文化の違いだと思う。

I want to watch the movie also...

Finished reading Da Vinci Code today.. It was so exciting that it took only 2 weeks to read it through. Finally I can read paperbacks in English!!!

Once I get how to skip unfamiliar words and go on, it is easy to continue and follow the story. Though a certain degree of vocabulary is essential to guess the meaning of unknown phrases and understand the main stream of the plot.

Learning new words from story books is easier than from news or articles because I can easily picture out the scenes, who is doing what, and where. If it is thrilling, it would not so hard to imagine what the characters would react and what they would say.

I already bought another Dan Brown's book "Angels and Demons"!! This time it's over 600 pages but I will be able to finish...

I have the same excitement I felt when I was a junior high school student and first read Sherlock Holmes series in Japanese. The words were difficult, but the story was exciting, England in 18th century was fascinating. I was totally into it and finished many long books without breaks.

Mystery books are good reading material. It makes the readers want to continue to get the answer for the secret or code that were laid before them. So.. if I do not understand the book fully, it is OK because it is a book intended to confuse and mislead the readers!!!

"Beverly Hills Chihuahua"

A celebrity dog living in Beverly Hills, Chloe, gets lost in Mexico and meets a lot of dogs. The place was totally new to her and she was first desperate to go home. Former police dog helps her and they became friends.

Disney always produces very nice movies with animals. The mouthes of the dogs are computer graphics and so the dogs speak!

I just want to mention some reviews on this movie. Some people say that it patronizes the racial stereotypes; dirty Mexican dogs are waiting to be rescued by an LA lady and given a good bath. This comment shocked me but it really makes sense. This kind of story might grate on Mexican people. The message that Walt Disney wanted to deliver is that they strongly hope that every domestic animal has a loving home. But even good messages can offend some people.

"Marley and Me"

It is a story of a young couple, John and Jane, and a Labrador retriever, Marley. Marley is too an energetic dog and he never listens to the owners. He eats anything, destroys furniture, and runs to everything that interests him. As Marley becomes bigger, it gets more difficult to control him. John and Jane, trying to hold Marley, are so funny.

What impressed me is that both Jane and John dealt with all the problems in a positive way. Even though Jane was stressed out with taking care of her children and Marlie, she still said that this is Marley's home and he's not going to go anywhere no matter how tiring it is to keep him. John also told his friend that he would never leave Jane even when they had arguments every day. Considering the divorce rate in the states, which is 50%, this couple are strongly bonded.

After their three kids became elementary school students, Marley got older. It is so sad to lose a pet because it is a member of their family. It almost made me cry.

Very nice movie, worth watching many times.

"17 again"

I saw three movies last weekend and all of them were so nice! I saw 17 again, where a middle-aged man becomes 17 years old again. He and his wife were going to divorce because he was always complaining about his life and he thought it was his mistake that he got married instead of entering college.

After coming back to 17, though, he went to the same high school as his son and daughter, and realized how precious what he has is. He talked to his wife pretending to be a friend of his son and he got very close to her. Gradually he starts to feel sorry for being irresponsible and wants to start a new life again with his family...

Anybody can say or feel like "How I wish I could go back to teens. I would change my life totally." but if you could, maybe you would notice that what you have now is not that bad.

"Shall we dance?"

This was simply marvelous!!

"Shall we dance?" is one of the best movie I have ever seen. It was romantic, heartwarming, and enjoyable.

I guess many working people just start getting bored their lives with work at the age of John. They are tired with the same days and same things they do, so they need something that gives them a little change, but it puts a quite important meaning to their lives. In John's case, it was dance.

I really like the scene where his wife told the detective she hired that she trusted her husband. This line;

"Because we need a witness in our lives. There's a billion people on the planet , what does anyone's life really mean? But in a marriage, you're promising to care about everything. The good thing, bad things, terrible things... everything. All of it, all the time, every day. You're saying your life is not gonna be unnoticed because I'll notice it. Your life is not gonna be unwitnessed because I would be your witness."

I was so impressed and really felt good after watching this. It was so romantic, moving, and unforgettable.

"Twilight"

The title best matches the atmosphere of this movie.

Bella moved to Washington and goes to a new high school. Then she falls in love with Edward, who was said to be difficult to make friends with. Bella later knows his secret but she says she will love him regardless of the fact.

The plot is like a fantasy, but what really touches is the pure, sincere love of them, which may be typical of teenagers. I wish I could fully understand why Bella likes him so much (because they speak so fast and not clearly at all!). Hmm, there still seems a long way to go.

"Goal! 2"

The newcomer of the team has now become a superstar in the professional succor world. In this movie, Santi is a rich, popular and famous player living with his girlfriend in a mansion. Everything seemed alright, however...

The problem is; the more popular he becomes, the more women he attracts. Although he loves his girlfriend sincerely, it is now much easier to have an "affair", which many gossip magazines are waiting for.

One of the common problems among couples is the distance. If you are far away from someone and cannot touch or even make an eye contact with him/her, it is sometimes difficult to keep close relationship. In this case, his fame makes things worse. Can he make up for it?

In this story are many many famous succor players as guests; Beckham, Zidane, Gonzalez... All great players makes this "Goal! 2" much more attractive.

"Raising Helen"

What if you become a mother of 3 children all of sudden? One is a teenager girl who wants to be an adult, second one is a boy in an elementary school who still misses his mother, and the third is a little girl in a kindergarten.

Helen was astonished but works really hard to get along with the 3 children of her late sister. Beside her own job, she has to take care of them, so her life seemed very busy and tough. This is what working mothers do.

Raising is not easy at all but it is sure a precious experience because you would know how you were brought up, and how hard it was. Educating children is very difficult and delicate since it has a big influence on their personality.

"Goal!"

A rainy weekend is perfect for watching movie at home.

Today's film is "Goal!", about football in Newcastle, the UK. The young guy got a chance to have a trial of Newcastle team. His dream to become a football player in the UK has just started. Getting over the obstacles coming one after another, he finally wins a goal in a very important match!

The plot was wonderful, and it encouraged me to take chances, go straight to it, and never give it up.

"Knowing"

I saw "Knowing" with my friends the other day. The theater was full of people, so we had to sit just in front of the screen. It was too close.

It was a story of man who notices that the world would come to an end soon. He struggles to find a way to avoid it, but accidents and disasters happens just as the prediction written 50 years ago...

I felt the plot was very frightening. It did not seem that he would save the world. I do not like such stories very much. If I had not been with my friends, I would have gone out in the midst of the movie. I almost cried in the end and it kept me up until 3 am.

I wonder how other people there think of this movie.

"GHOST"

"Ghost" was terrific. Despite some violent scenes, the whole story is not just horrific but sad and moving.

What happens when a person died?

It is one of the most fandamental question which we cannot say anything for sure. If the person left his loved one, he remains here and protects her; that is one answer which this film suggests.

Every day, the newspapers and TVs report death of a lot of people in many parts of the world. However, few of them knew so beforehand. In the end the wicked are punished but the dead does never revive. That inevitable fact makes this film sad. Instead of a happy miracle that he comes back to life, she only got her life without him.

Too sad a story, but quite impressive.

"If Only"

I saw "If Only" today.

It was one of the best movie I have ever seen. The storyline is sophisticated, and the end is so impressive.

In the movie, Ian had a little argument with Sam. He could not attend the concert for which Sam had been preparing for 3 years. He just thought there would be another chance to listen to her concert. BUT....

Generally speaking we believe tomorrow will come, with no doubts. It is natural because we cannot lead a peaceful life without believing so. Therefore, we sometimes make mistakes thinking we have tomorrow, day after tomorrow... "a plenty of time".

This movie reminded me that it is not.

You cannot rewind the time, and there is no guarantee for tomorrow coming as today.

So, if you do not want to regret, you should be kind to others, grateful for the fact that you are here, and not argue with your loved one over a trivial thing.

It is worth seeing again for several times. Thank you!