Phil was on a late shift for the Thursday retro movie, so left to my own devices I went looking on Disney+ which I got given for 6 months when I upgraded my phone. Nothing much on there I have to admit, but I came across a little movie called Timmy Failure ~ Mistakes Were Made (2020) and decided to give it a go.
Timmy (Winslow Fegley) is an 11 year old kid living in Portland, Oregon with his single mother Patty, (Ophelia Lovibond) and runs his own detective agency in the back room of their house. After his father walked out on them, Timmy gained an imaginary friend Total, who happens to be a polar bear. The Detective agency is then known as Total Failure Inc. He has a best friend, Rollo (Kei ) a classmate who has a crush on him Molly Moskins, (Chloe Coleman) and his mother starts dating a meter maid (in the UK known as a parking attendant) Crispin Flavius (Karl Bornheimer). I had a blast watching this, Winslow Fegley carried the movie and was quite adorable. The CGI polar bear is really well done, and the movie is directed with great sympathy for the imagination of childhood. I’m not going to do spoilers at all but will leave the trailer here, it gives the general gist. If you have Disney+ it’s possibly the best thing on it 🙂
Fraggle Rating. Bloody Brilliant.
Our Saturday night movie this week is from Netflix. Close (2019) is an action thriller, written and directed by Vicky Jewson, and starring Noomi Rapace as Sam Carlson, a bodyguard, or ‘close protection officer’ if you like. We start the movie in South Sudan, where Sam is guarding a couple of members of the press. They get ambushed and Sam saves them. This is nothing to do with the rest of the movie but sets the scene and tone for what comes next.
Sam is hired to bodyguard a young heiress, Zoe Tanner (Sophie Nélisse) a troubled girl, who has just inherited her father’s mining business, much to the dismay of her stepmother Rima Hassine (Indira Varma) as she has been running the business, whereas Zoe has just been dicking about. You’ve probably guessed by now that we’re in a kidnap scenario, and you’re right. So nothing really new in terms of plot, there are plenty of similar themed movies in the world. What is different about this one is that it is mainly female lead. From the director to the main actors, the sisters are doing it for themselves, and making a pretty good fist of it. Don’t expect glamour à la Charlize Atomic Bombshell, Noomi makes Sam a gritty heroine, cold, unemotional, and exceedingly good in the kick-ass department. Although Nélisse is given the poor little rich girl rôle, she is smart, speaks arabic, and has to grow up fast in the predicament she finds herself in. That will do for spoilers, though I must mention one scene where Sam has to fight a would-be-kidnapper and does it with her hands tied behind her back, this is not choreographed chicanery à la John Wick, but hard, scary fight-for-your-life stuff and Ms.Rapace has amazing physicality to do this kind of stuff. Filmed in London, Marrakesh and Casablanca with Malte Rosenfeld in charge of cinematography, the scenery is authentic and beautiful in places.
Thoroughly enjoyed this, the plot is a bit hokey now and then, and a bit clichéd at times, but Jewson keeps everything moving at a decent pace and doesn’t over-egg the pudding with the fight scenes. The movie is 1 hr and 34 minutes long, or short by todays standards, and Rapace elevates the trope by giving us a believable action heroine that’s worth spending that hour and a half in her company.
Fraggle Rating: Well good!
And did you get much ironing done?
LikeLiked by 2 people
No, I have a new hobby now. 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Which is?
LikeLiked by 2 people
Not telling, you’ll only steal it! 😀
LikeLiked by 2 people
I am working on my own Ironing Blog….it’s called the Ironing Fix, how to survive in a brutal world through ironing. I reckon it will be a smash hit, and probably because of that I’ll be abandoning my own regular blog. Just a heads up 🤔🤔🤔
LikeLiked by 2 people
You’ll be hearing from my lawyers soon, a straight cease and desist.
LikeLiked by 1 person
🤣
LikeLiked by 1 person
🤔🤔 My doctor’s will be in contact with you first. They say withelding cures from seriously ill patients is considered very dangerous🤔🤔😂😂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Is this a threat? My lawyers say you’re only making this worse for yourself…
LikeLiked by 2 people
I never use threats. This was just a presenting of facts, as stated in article 85.710.6788..clause A of the medical publishing addendum for Ironing …disease or cure? 😀
LikeLiked by 2 people
Just get the $49 over ASAP…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I came up short one penny…I guess it isn’t happening 😢
LikeLiked by 2 people
🤣🤣
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like the sound of the second one. Rapace is usually teriffic As for Disney+, it will not surprise you in the least to discover that I don’t subscribe to it. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
No surprise, I’ll be disengaging after the free 6 months.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have seen Close myself too, and while I was a little bit less enthusiastic about it then you, I definitely enjoyed it enough. Rapace certainly was great, but then again, she’s always great😀
As for Disney+ I don’t have that subscription anymore…but I will be renewing it this month for the second season of The Mandalorian! 😀😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Cheers Michel 🙂
LikeLike
I love the fact that when you’re left to your own devices, you turn to Disney+
My kind of gal 🤣
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s the first and last time I think, nothing else on there floated my boat. 😘
LikeLiked by 1 person
I heard Mulan is pretty meh.
Probably won’t watch it and just keep my memories of the animation intact!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Can’t say I’m bothered about it much.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lol 😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
the first one I might see with my granddaughter. I dont have Disney so I dunno.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s a lovely little film, maybe it will be out on VD at some point. Not sure hiw disney works.
LikeLike
I have Timmy Failure in my queue,but haven’t gotten to it yet. Likewise, Close. Um, do you know Princess Bride is on Disney Plus?😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Really?? Yippee. I will do it before my 6 months is up! You will love Timmy Failure, I was thinking that throughout the movie 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yay to both! I think I may try Timmy this week.🤗
LikeLiked by 1 person
HA! Look at that! TWO movies I haven’t seen! Nicely done! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Timmy Failure! See that one, it has hidden depths.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Neither of those appeals. It might be time to get my Fred and Ginger DVDs out. They’re comfort viewing for autumn and winter.
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂 love Fred and Ginger movies.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You have good taste 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Quite partial to Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse too, though F&G are top of my list!
Try this video for instant F&G type happiness 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s truly wonderful. With only a couple of exceptions, I’ve seen all those films.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Timmy Failure is a gem, that’s for sure. I don’t think we have seen Close but it’s hard to tell, not only due to the generic-sounding plot but also because Rapace seems to be in almost everything!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha got to work while you can I guess!
LikeLike
Looks like you have provided entertainment for a couple of hours this afternoon for the kids (including me) with Timmy, and Close may provide the entertainment when they go to sleep 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
The kids will love Timmy!
LikeLiked by 1 person