Pixar Onward Official Trailer

Interesting to see this, especially from around 1'09" where a favourite piece of music kicks in

A busy week

I've struggled a little this week partly possibly due to a busy week. (Eleri was the busy one rather than me to be truthful. She works two days a week and spent one day in Macclesfield at the new Go Teach offices). I gave the paper on Proverbs on Monday to about 17 of us, all eager to hear and to ask questions. Good time. In the evening we went to see Toy Story 4 which was good (nice to see a reference to conscience in there, even if only as the pretext for a joke). It is great that there are still one or two films we can all see together.

I've reported on Tuesday, my day off. Wednesday I was out with the other ministers walking across Hampstead Heath. About six of us were present. Good times. Rest of the day went on preparing and then leading the Midweek meeting.

We should have had an officers meeting on Thursday evening but that God postponed. Otherwise the main thing has been preparing for the Lord's Day. I've also started reading Penelope Fitzgerald's The gate of angels (a kind birthday gift from friends). (I had intended writing a post called a month of celebration marking the way my May 22 birthday tumbled into June with a lovely barbecue organised by friends for me and another church member. I was given books, ties and other gifts)

This morning (Saturday) we were out giving tracts in Golders Green. There were five of us. That was good to do again. Otherwise the busyness has just been with visitors - two sons and their wives at different times going to different weddings and two friends with each couple. In the first case the friend is relation from America. She, her friend and Gwion (our son) have travelled to France for the world cup. We are hoping for three extra at church tomorrow then.

Incredibles 2

Pixar/The Walt Disney Company, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The family got to see Incredibles 2 in the cinema recently (to be strictly accurate, Eleri went to see Mama Mia 2 - a mere 10 years behind the first not 16 like our one - while we three boys went to see Incredibles). The film was always we have come to expect from Pixar and followed on from the first film without etting the side down. Part of the focus is on the baby Jack Jack. I thought the idea that gifted kids are born with multiple skills but have to learn how to use them was nicely explored, the house husband/woman at work thing is perhaps a little passe but done nicely enough, I guess. The film is apparently littered with in-jokes. Sorry to see a slight worsening in allowable language. The sight of a hnad gun may be controversial.

The setting is the sixties when I discovered my superheroes and I think that is where they belong. Multiple films that seek to update things cut no ice with me. It is apparently the longest computer-animated feature film to date (nearly two hours) but did not seem long. (The short beforehand Bao was well up to standard). 

Brave Julie Fowlis

Brave

We went as a family last week to see the new Pixar movie Brave (see here). I was partly persuaded to go as the film features two songs (in English) sung by Julie Fowlis. Pixar always put on a good show anyway. The film was beautifully drawn and held interest right through. It could have done with a few more jokes, I guess. On the whole it was average for Pixar but Pixar are always above average. The story was quite fresh though as outlandish as ever. It deals with that age old question of fate or divine predestination as against free will or human responsibility. The world is unable to deal with this adequately, of course, and so the basic message here was that you have to make your own fate, which is about as close as a worldly view will get. Biblical Christians simply have to live with the tension between God's predestination and our human responsibility as typified in Newton's statement about preparing sermons as if there were no Holy Spirit and preaching as though all depended on him regardless.

Brave

I notice that Pixar are bravely using Julie Fowlis to promote their new film Brave.
(There is an old video of the song being performed here)