Soul

Joe is a middle-school band teacher whose life hasn’t quite gone the way he expected. His true passion is jazz — and he’s good. But when he travels to another realm to help someone find their passion, he soon discovers what it means to have soul.

So guess what? I was given Disney+ for Christmas for the next six months! So yes, you can expect more movie reviews in the future – at least for Disney things. We celebrated this gift by watching Soul, the latest movie from Pixar. And it was phenomenal.

It features Joe, whose life hasn’t gone exactly the way he planned. He is a middle-school band teacher, but has a passion for Jazz. One day he gets a big break, but then accidentally dies. Not accepting the afterlife, Joe ends up where souls who haven’t gone to Earth yet reside, and he is tasked with helping a reluctant soul, 22, complete her last task before she can go to Earth.

And I really can’t say much more about the plot without spoiling it, except to say that the ending is perfect.

This is a movie about identity, and souls, and purpose. About change and new phases of life and what life is really about. The Jazz music is amazing, and different art styles are used very effectively to indicate different realms and characters.

In short, Pixar has another true masterpiece on its hands. If you haven’t watched it yet, you need to. If you don’t usually watch animated movies, you still need to watch this. Kids will enjoy it, while adults will find great meaning in it. For those of you who don’t have Disney+, hopefully it will be out in other formats and platforms soon.

Christmas Is Coming!

Do you know how I know? Because the Christmas cactus has started blooming!!!

First Snow

Yep, we actually got some snow! Not much, not enough to stick on asphalt or concrete, but still!

Get Smart (2008 Film)

Maxwell Smart, a highly intellectual but bumbling spy working for the CONTROL agency, is tasked with preventing a terrorist attack from rival spy agency KAOS.

I never saw this movie when it originally came out. Is it worth watching?

As someone who saw a few episodes of the original Get Smart as a child through reruns, it was very interesting to see them update everything. Everyone thinks CONTROL and KAOS are Cold War relics. How wrong they are. Both are alive and well with new (and sometimes old) technology helping their missions.

Steve Carrell is perfect as Maxwell Smart, a middle-aged CONTROL analyst who is brilliant and who has been trying to become an agent for years. When a list of CONTROL’s agents is leaked, there is no one else to send out but Maxwell Smart. And Agent 99, who only just received a new face. They have some trouble working together at the beginning, but eventually Agent 99 figures out that Maxwell Smart is actually far better than she thinks he is. Ann Hathaway is great at this part. Add in Dwayne Johnson as a fellow agent and plenty of other great characters, this movie rises above the original.

Unfortunately, while some of the humor is great, some is, well, juvenile. If you like that kind of thing and liked the original, or even like spy movies generally, this is up your ally. If not, then expect a few moments that will make you cringe.

Autumn Autumn Everywhere

I wasn’t able to get out much this week, busy times, but I did manage to catch a few more leaves for you guys this week!

Fall Is Definitely Here!

I have photos of leaves to prove it!

I just love the colors of autumn leaves. Even I am finding the cooler days refreshing. And yes, I have already indulged in apple cider and hot chocolate:)

Up in the Canyon

So we went up one of the nearby canyons to see some fall colors. Even though it was a Sunday it was packed. But we still saw some beauty and I managed to get a few pictures.

All About Leaves

So the leaves are starting to turn! I love this time of year! Time to break out the hot apple cider!

Fall is Coming!

You didn’t think I would leave you without any beautiful pictures this week, did you? ^^;

Yep, we are starting to get some flowers that appear distinctly fallish! Soon there will be fall colored leaves!

Secret confession: I don’t like scary things or being scared, so while I enjoy costumes and kids and candy (which sadly most of us won’t have in the same way this year) Halloween is not my favorite holiday. However I am all about fall harvest. Bring on the pumpkins and apple cider and fall leaves!

Exciting News!

I have exciting news today about a project I just started! Cindy’s Library now has a YouTube channel!!!

How did this come about? I have been having trouble keeping up with all the books I want to review. I am hoping that I will find vlogging about what I am reading will be easier for me to do than blogging about them. This does not mean that this blog is going away. For books or ideas where I have more to share or want to go indepth, I will use this blog. It will also continue to be the home for my movie reviews and pictures. I hope to have something fun or inspiring to share with you every week on here.

But my new YouTube channel will be the main home for my book reviews going forward. In each review, I will continue to share what the book is about and why I recommend it.

So wish me luck! Hopefully this will work better for me. In the mean time, my first three videos are up: an introduction, a review of The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict by Trenton Lee Stewart, and The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Please check them out here.

This project isn’t supposed to take inordinate amounts of time, but if you do have suggestions, feel free to let me know! If you have read anything I have reviewed, I would love to hear what you thought. I would also love to hear what you are reading and why you think others would enjoy reading about it too!

Happy reading!