True Lies, 1994

THURSDAY MOVIE CONNECTION!!!

Arnold Schwarzenegger-- Bill Paxton

Director: James Cameron (Titanic, Avatar, The Terminator)

Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, Bill Paxton

Harry Tasker (Schwarzenegger) is a secret agent, whose cover as a salesman has his wife Helen (Curtis) bored with her life, and when someone contacts her pretending to be an agent, she goes along with him, wanting some excitement in her life. Harry uses his government surveillance abilities to spy on his wife and find out if she's cheating on him. He begins to take this a little too far, eventually interrogating her and then pretending to turn her into an agent. (She doesn't know who she's dealing with.)

In one part, Jamie Lee Curtis strips and dances for her husband, though she doesn't know it's her husband at the time because he's sitting in shadow and disguising his voice. I think he just does it for fun, so it's kind of amusing, but also awful! And awkward. I always fast forward.

And the other part of the story is some terrorists who are trying to kill everyone, of course, kidnap him, his wife, his daughter, and he has save everybody. It's funny, and action-packed (hello, it's Arnold!), but with too much sex and language for my taste.

Chuck, tv series, 2007-

Creator: Josh Schwartz, Chris Fedak

Stars: Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovski, Adam Baldwin, Joshua Gomez

Chuck (Levi) is a "nerd-herder" at the Buy More, a very green-and-khaki electronics store in Burbank, California. One day, Chuck opens up an email, and suddenly all kinds of government information in downloaded into his brain! Now when he hears a name or sees a picture or person, the subconscious information suddenly "flashes" upon him.

Because of this unique ability, he becomes a government asset, and the CIA and NSA each send an agent to protect him and also use his abilities on "missions". The NSA agent, John Casey (Baldwin), works alongside Chuck at the Buy More, which is always entertaining, since Casey isn't the best with customer service, and would rather be shooting something.

Sarah Walker (Strahovski) is Chuck's CIA handler, and her cover is as his girlfriend, which makes Chuck's life even more interesting.

I am not crazy about television comedies, but with Chuck I make an exception! It is now on season 5, and I'm only disappointed that I am all caught up and can't watch them all in one go, like I could with the first 4 seasons. Chuck is a fun show, and I highly recommend it.

The 39 Steps, 1935

Director: Alfred Hitchcock (Dial 'M' for Murder, To Catch a Thief, The Birds, Vertigo, Rope, Saboteur, etc......)

Stars: Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll

Hannay (Donat) is taken by surprise at the theater (where he is watching an interesting spectacle of a man nicknamed "Memory" who will answer any question from the audience, because he memorizes 50 facts every day) when a woman comes to him and asks him to take her home. He takes her to his place, confused by her strange, paranoid behavior. When she discovers that there are men on the street watching his apartment, she begins to tell him about the "39 Steps" and how she must go see someone in Scotland or the UK's secrets will get out of the country. (I don't think they were specific on secrets; I think we are just supposed to know that these are super important secrets. Or it could be I wasn't paying attention. Except I'm pretty sure I was.)

Then the mysterious woman comes to him in the night and tells him to run or he'll be next. And when she falls over, he sees she has a knife in her back!

This incident convinces him that she was telling the truth, so, still unsure of what to do, but knowing he's headed to see a professor in Scotland, Hannay loses the goons after him by hopping a train. But at the next station, he discovers they're still after him. To escape them, he gets into a young woman's compartment and starts kissing her! (Classic escape! Maybe it was Hitch who started the trend?) The woman, Pamela (Madeleine Carroll), does not believe Hannay, and instantly tries to turn him in, but he is able to get off the train and run.

Well, this summary is getting long. I really liked this movie! I can't believe I've never seen it before! The cover for it (at least the one on Netflix) is a bit scary-looking, with a bunch of bloody hand-prints. The film has nothing to do with that! Except for when the mysterious woman is stabbed in the beginning, but it's not bloody! I don't want to say anything more, except that Pamela and Hannay eventually get hand-cuffed together, and are on the run from the guys trying to kill Hannay, and end up sharing a hotel room. How was this allowed on the screen in the 30s!!!!?? I mean, nothing happens, but still!

It's thrilling! :)

Charade, 1963

Director: Stanley Donen

Stars: Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau

"One of these days you could wake up dead, Mrs. Lambert...."

I love this comedy! Murder, spies, romance, suspense, missing money! Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn! What else could you want?

Charles Lampert is murdered, leaving behind a widow, Reggie (Hepburn), confused and homeless. Having planned on divorcing him, Reggie isn't heartbroken, just confused, especially when a CIA agent contacts her, and tells her that her husband was wanted by the US government for stealing $250,000, and that his real name wasn't Lampert. He tells her to look for the money, and the search produces nothing, which doesn't help Reggie because she soon finds out it's not only the CIA who are after the money! And Peter isn't who he seems to be!

Okay, that is the best I can do for a short synopsis without copying someone else's. Basically it's brilliant, and I recommend it without reservations! Watch it! If you are a fan of Audrey Hepburn, it is a must see. Ditto Cary Grant. Ditto classic films.

I hate the word "ditto". I really do!