The Academy Awards appear to be the three-horse race many expected it would be, with “Gravity,” “American Hustle” and “12 Years a Slave” all receiving a heap of nominations.
The nominations for the 86th Academy Awards, announced Thursday morning in Beverly Hills, Calif., were led by the 3-D space odyssey “Gravity” and the con-artist caper “American Hustle,” both with 10 nominations. The harrowing historical epic “12 Years a Slave” trailed closely with nine nominations.
Ryan's investigation leads him to the Russian oligarch Viktor Cherevin, played by Kenneth Branagh, who also directed the film. Certainly, it takes a bite out of the nationalistic politics when the movie's villain is played by a knighted British actor known for his Shakespeare work.
Branagh endows his film with (mostly) old-fashioned competency — something often lacking in today's action films — but little to distinguish it from superior thrillers that have come before. The best thing here is the sleekness of modern Moscow, where much of the action takes place. The film is filled with a nighttime mix of neon and taillights set against the Kremlin and other monuments — a handsome enough rendering to send a viewer back to the recent Bond, “Skyfall,” for those elegant Shanghai scenes.
Having clung to the Russians as go-to villains long after the Cold War thawed, the movies find themselves current again with their favorite arch-enemy.
Cooling Russo-American relations have yielded an opening for the return of Tom Clancy's CIA analyst, just in time for the Sochi Olympics. In the Jack Ryan reboot, “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit,” Chris Pine takes over as the spy who was played by Alec Baldwin (“The Hunt for Red October”), Harrison Ford (“Patriot Games,” ''Clear and Present Danger”) and Ben Affleck (“The Sum of All Fears”).
Jonze has become known for creating bewildering worlds, from his work on the maniacal Oscar-nominated “Being John Malkovich,” his layered “Adaptation” and the heart-rending “Where the Wild Things Are.” He's also crafted arresting videos for inventive artists like Bjork and Kanye West, as well as a collection of short films, commercials and documentaries. But “Her” is the first feature film he's penned solo and he's never been so ingenious.
In a dark theater, surrounded by the wondrous world Jonze creates in “Her,” in theaters Friday, it's difficult to avoid getting emotional. There is such a somber and supple tone throughout, as Theodore (faultlessly performed by a pensive and vulnerable Phoenix) surrenders to his desperation, finding glimpses of glee we're pleased he's afforded.
How essential are physical and emotional connections when falling in love? What would you miss — looking into someone's eyes, caressing them, tasting them? In “Her,” Spike Jonze's futuristic exploration of a man's relationship with his computer, the filmmaker surveys human disjunction.
Joaquin Phoenix is Theodore, a loner struggling to cope with his unwanted divorce from neuroscientist Catherine (a comely, sullen Rooney Mara). Theodore has become guarded, but his work requires an outpouring of emotions as he pens tender, personal letters for others at beautifulhandwrittenletters.com.
“No one has ever counted,” he said, as quoted by Russian agency RIA Novosti. “They started counting when they decided that they should spoil things for Russia so that Russia would feel uncomfortable.”
On Tuesday, IOC President Thomas Bach denounced politicians who used the Sochi Olympics for their own purposes “on the backs of the athletes,” including leaders who publicly snubbed the games without having been invited.
SOCHI, Russia--A record number of world dignitaries are coming to the Sochi Olympics, triple the amount that attended the 2010 Vancouver Games, Russian organizers said Thursday on the eve of the opening ceremony.
Dmitry Chernyshenko, head of the Sochi organizing committee, told the IOC that 65 heads of state and government and international organizations are expected to attend Russia's first Winter Olympics.
〔編譯林翠儀／綜合報導〕日本聽障作曲家佐村河內守找槍手捉刀作曲事件，自稱「共犯」的大學兼任講師新垣隆6日召開記者會再爆佐村河內並未失聰。新垣表示，18年來為佐村河內提供了20首樂曲，收到了約700萬日圓（約208萬台幣）的酬勞。
現年43歲的新垣在母校桐朋園大學音樂系擔任作曲講師，他說是在25歲時遇見33歲的佐村河內，當時佐村河內正在為電影製作配樂，透過熟人找他幫忙，原以為擔任作曲助理，後來才知道是槍手，一開始曲子透過佐村河內發表而大受歡迎，新垣也覺得很開心。
嚴格的文法學家堅稱 for free 的文法錯誤，所以下句的文法有誤：
他們抱持的理由是，for 是 in exchange for 的簡寫，而 free 是 free of charge 的簡寫。所以，兩者若完整地寫出，那麼就變成 in exchange for free of charge，如果這不是文法錯誤，什麼才是文法錯誤呢？
tow * away +
拖吊 (尤指違規停放的車輛)
By and by 通常當副詞片語用，意為「不久 (after a while)；很快 (soon)」，如 Sam will come back by and by. (山姆不久就會回來)；By and by the sun began to appear. (不久太陽開始出現)。但 by and by 亦可當名詞用，意為「未來，將來 (future)」，與 future 一樣，其前都要有定冠詞 the，且表示單數的概念，而且為了避免混淆，這片語通常加連字號，如 Most science fiction stories are set in the by-and-by. (大多數科幻小說都是以未來為背景)；Last night I told my wife about my plans for the by-and-by. (昨晚我告訴我太太有關未來的計畫)。
By the by 意為「對了；順便一提 (incidentally, by the way)」，如 I have to go now. By the by, if you want that book, I’ll bring it next time. (我要走了。對了，如果你要那本書，我下次帶給你)；By the by I have something to tell you. (我順便有件事要告訴你)。
英文：scam gang (n.)
說明：scam 這個字可當名詞和動詞用，意為「詐騙 (錢財)」。電話詐騙集團叫做 phone scam gang，而詐騙電話為 scam phone call。
(名詞) 繁忙的現代都市生活方式。
四季的英文通常不大寫，除非它們是專有名詞的一部份。不過，根據一項古早的規則，spring, summer, autumn/fall, winter 若被擬人化，則它們應該大寫。例如：
然而，不管是否擬人化，現今大多數人對於春夏秋冬都不大寫，除非它們是專有名詞的一部份。例如：
Balmy 這個形容詞意為「(空氣、天氣等) 溫和的，溫暖的，和煦的，宜人的」，如 a balmy summer night (溫暖的夏夜)；balmy weather (宜人的天氣)。Balmy 跟 balm (藥膏) 有關。可以用 balmy 來形容的東西，一般認為都具有治療功用。Balmy 跟 balm 一樣，l 都不發音。
Balmy 也有「傻乎乎的；精神有些錯亂的；瘋瘋癲癲的」意思，但這意思現在往往被 barmy 所取代，如 Tony must be barmy to go out playing basketball in cold weather like this. (這樣寒冷的天氣還出去打籃球，東尼一定是瘋了)。Barmy 在英國及北美以外的英語系國家頗為常見，但在美國和加拿大非常罕見。Balmy 在任何國家通常都是被用來表示「溫和的，溫暖的，和煦的，宜人的」意思。
