I'm going through the videos I acquired from my father's belongings (as well as some of my personal stash that I haven't had time to store in the DVD binder yet). I tried watching "Tron" yesterday, but the copy that I have was bad. And I was too tired yesterday afternoon to watch the 2005 version of "King Kong." I found this classic that I always liked, and am watching it now.
When "True Lies" was released in 1994 (hard to believe this movie is 14 years old now), it was protested by the Arab-American Anti-Defamation Committee because the terrorists happened to be of Arabian descent (boy, do times change, huh?). The movie made money anyway, despite threats of boycotts. And there is a reaason for it -- it's pretty darn funny and exciting.
Arnold Schwarzennegar plays Harry Tasker, an agent for a covert government agency. He's great at his job. But at home, his wife Helen (Jame Lee Curtis) thinks he's a boring computer salesman, and his daughter Dana (Eliza Dushku, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer") has no respect for him. Harry is after some terrorists who are smuggling in arms. But he has bigger fish to fry at home when he discovers that Helen may be cheating with a used car salesman posing as a spy (Bill Paxton).
One of the things that has been remarked about this film is the action set pieces within the film. For a comedy, it has some incredible action in it. From the opening sequence at the mansion to the final scenes where he has to rescue his daughter, the movie is full of over the top cartoonish action.
For an action film, the comedy is also spot-on. I always knew that Schwarzennegar could do comedy, but bringing in Tom Arnold was a great decision. What I've always said about Arnold is that it takes the right director to get a great performance out of him. Cameron used Arnold beautifully in this movie, and he ends up being one of the best things about it.
One thing that has been criticized about this movie is the sequence where Harry is trying to find out if Helen is cheating, leading up the strip tease scene. Some thought it was unnecessary, but I thought it fit in well with the title and the major theme of the film -- everyone is lying to each other. Harry is lying to Helen and Dana about being a spy; Helen is lying to Harry about Simon; Dana is lying to Harry and Helen about being a thief (early on she steals money from Arnold's character); Simon is lying to Helen about being a spy. It isn't until a major crisis comes up that the truth is finally revealed.
Rent it this week.
No comments:
Post a Comment