I think where we diverge on this is intent. He doesn’t think he’s being mean-spirited or putting her in her place. He plans an operation in a way familiar to him and it backfires spectacularly. His partner and the guy doing the recording think he’s nuts - and they’re right.

Probably because not too many people would get worked up about a child who had her family cleansed by the Nazis joining the military and wanting Israel to exist as a haven for the world’s Jews after 6 million of them had been killed. It’s not the defining event of her professional life, the latter of which made her…

Doesn’t justify his approach, or that it was an ignorant attempt to address their problems. I’d say it meant he was still clueless about how to handle the situation. He’s completely self-assured in his professional life and in his mind he’s not abusing her - he’s stepping into what she’s signaled is exciting. She…

I think CEO Spanfeller was also getting shellacked, well in excess of the comments about the actual article in question

Godspeed.

Just Hughes for now, but perhaps an inquiry is in order. I’m granting you Special Counsel powers to lead the investigation.

Given the timing I’m 100% sure she was drafted, plus even now every Israeli has to serve two years in the IDF. Her role in the military is noted in the obituary.

GWAR should really always get to choose first.

Don’t Change is an all-time great that will make for a fun cover.  A solid choice.

So many helicopters in True Lies, completely unremarked upon by Arnold.

The purpose of the hotel scene was for him to come clean about what he does for a living. He was completely unprepared for her dance routine and probably expected something closer to what she started with, then to tell her the truth. That was a stab at marital communication from a guy already proven to be somewhat…

Regarding the xenophobia, I think it’s reasonable to point out the characterization of these particular Muslims was based upon their fanaticism / extremism and not meant to be reflective of the region as a whole. I didn’t come away from, for instance, Patriot Games thinking all Irish are IRA assassins.

I have the exact opposite take - it was a wake-up call for a neglectful husband who thought everything he did was global life and death, and what she did was zero stakes (e.g. her going with the made-up copier excuse for why she was leaving the office when unbeknowst to her he stopped by). He was completely caught…

Eastern Europeans were also really easy since the collapse of the Soviet Union left the region a geopolitical mess and most Americans couldn’t pick one country on a map.

I love Heston’s dressing-down of Faisil (hat tip to the author for that info nugget) after Schwarzenegger and (T) Arnold’s deflections on what a mess they made. “What makes you think the slack I cut him in any way translates to you??”

Yeah but the joke is consistently on Harry. He’s the one who is suspicious and paranoid. He’s the one who gradually realizes that his neglect of Helen is what might be driving her to cheat. He’s the one who’s surprised both at her outburst in the interrogation room and when her dancing in the hotel room evolves as she…

The best thing they did with his character was later reveal him to be a competent agent with surprising depth. His lecture to Arnold about Curtis cheating landed with unexpected emotion. “What did you expect, Harry? She’s a flesh and blood woman and you’re never around.”  It’s also what set the pretend spy plot thread…

I mean they are shaped like suppositories.

I thought the second was as well, taking the events of the first and expanding the characters’ world.

Fun story - we moved into a new house just before Halloween and a group of young kids came by with their parents. Our puppy tried to run out and we start yelling (dog’s name) - “NO! NO!” This little girl in the group starts crying because it turns out she had the same name and thought we were yelling at her. One of…