#cindy davis

[filmso2]

Spies in Disguise

2019

[adamwatchesmovies]

Spies in Disguise (2019)

If the line to Frozen II is too long or the tickets sold out, see Spies in Disguise instead. I’ll confess to preferring it over the Disney animated sequel. Its great voice cast makes good use of its familiar premise and there are enough solid gags to keep both kids and adults smiling.

Framed by a mysterious man with a robotic hand (voiced by Ben Mendelsohn), “the world’s most awesome spy”, Lance Sterling (Will Smith) turns to socially awkward scientific genius, Walter Beckett (Tom Holland) for help. Lance needs to find a way to clear his name and stop the baddie, a mission that’ll be much more difficult now that Walter has accidentally transformed him into a pigeon.

Throughout, we're reminded that Lance believes in fighting fire with fire. He doesn’t hesitate to blow up or knock out his opponents. This clashes with the young scientist's belief in a gentle approach. To carry this idea all the way through, you’d expect a revelation about the cybernetically enhanced terrorist’s origin to go something like this: because the agent shot first and asked questions later the first time they met, Killian lost his left arm and came back to get his revenge. The H.T.U.V. agent would realize there are consequences to using violent methods. Things would come full circle. It isn’t the case. Big missed opportunity by writers Brad Copeland, Lloyd Taylor, and Cindy Davis. There are other moments where the mismatched duo seems to get out of very sticky situations inexplicably - usually between scenes, which can be frustrating.

Otherwise, this film gets a lot right. The premise is ridiculous. The action scenes are equally loony. Walter’s unorthodox gadgets make for unpredictable, delightfully manic battles that make great use of the animated medium. Seeing Lance fail as he attempts to do everything he used to be able to while in the body of a pigeon fills the theater with chuckles and hearty laughs. It's funny to see someone arrogant get knocked down a peg. You’re having a good time as he struggles with his new body. It's a cartoon in the best sense of the world. Then, as the two heroes spend more time together, you warm up to them. This is where the voice actors come in. Tom Holland and Will Smith have perfect voices for these roles and play off each other wonderfully. Ben Mendelsohn is an obvious choice for a villain but it’s hard to argue with the results. I’ll also highlight Rashida Jones as the security agent hunting Lance Sterling - she’s got some good scenes.

Spies in Disguise delivers what you expect out of a spy comedy and a bit more too with its rubber-logic confrontations - all of which are surprisingly well co-ordinated. It’s got some memorable gags and the chemistry between Holland and Smith make up for the faults in the story and screenplay. It’s good family fun. (Theatrical version on the big screen, January 4, 2020)

[jolieeason]

Beat the Backlist 2026---January

Prompts I finished in January Genre Bender—combines 2+ genres together Romance, Science Fiction and Fantasy End of an era—last book in a series 10s, 10s, 10s across the board—title has 10+ words Spooky scary skeletons—the book fits any part of the prompt Spooky and scary Locked Away—Someone/Something is under lock and key The main female character was locked in a hospital for the…

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[jolieeason]

WWW Wednesday: January 21st, 2026

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words. The Three Ws are: What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish reading? What do you think you’ll read next? Here is what I am reading, what I recently finished, and what I plan to read from Thursday to Wednesday. Let me know if you have read or plan to read any of these books!! Happy Reading! What…

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[jolieeason]

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?---January 19th, 2026

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a place to meet and share what you have been and are about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit, comment, and add to your groaning TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at The Book…

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[movie-titlecards]

Spies in Disguise (2019)

My rating: 7/10

Still way more fun than the premise suggests, cloaca jokes and all.

[iamexulansis]

Del Toro highlighted in both Devil’s Backbone and Pan’s Labyrinth that the first discovery of the ghost and the labyrinth was done in daylight. This shows the fantastic in a mundane context; the director feels that one of the things that makes the fantastic tangible is to make it mundane; treat it like any subject.

Cindy Davis http://www.pajiba.com/seriously_random_lists/mindhole-blowers-20-facts-about-pans-labyrinth-that-might-make-you-believe-in-magic.php

[iamexulansis]

Del Toro believes that children have a perfect personality and then we (adults) ruin it with our “intelligent decisions to educate them; someone in the 19th century said that it was our duty to deal with children as if they were the ambassadors of a higher culture and not like we want to educate them, but like we want to learn from them.

Cindy Davis

http://www.pajiba.com/seriously_random_lists/mindhole-blowers-20-facts-about-pans-labyrinth-that-might-make-you-believe-in-magic.php