Diagonaldi Very well executed

Redwarmin This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

poetcomic1 Terri Garr's performance is perhaps her very best. It taps into her effervescent goofiness and subverts it into a rich and complex cover for evil. At the end she looks like 'Mother Russia' in her loose prison clothes, hair hanging limp, face ravaged by a life of deceit, lies and betrayal.I find it rather shocking that other reviewers blame the British security officers rather than the deadly dangerous atomic spies they are hunting down for 'deceiving' the middle class family. Ellen Burstyn gives a 100% to the role but when doesn't she? Terri is the real acting surprise. Her character doesn't 'tell' lies' she IS a living lie. Terrifying.Interesting to note that this was based on a true story AND was a fairly successful Broadway play as well.

tedtunes Someone mentioned that the plot of this movie was not very believable - unfortunately, it was based on fact (names changed, etc). The Krogers were an absolute menace and deserved everything they got, along with the rest of their spy ring, and how on earth were they able to flee the US and insinuate themselves into Ruislip?? However, I enjoyed the movie very much, although I missed the first 30 minutes (have now seen the entire thing - excellent movie IMHO). I couldn't understand why Ellen Burstyn's character was so distraught, if I had discovered my 'best ' friend had been lying to me all along I'd have gone right off her! Teri Garr's character despicably blamed her friend for HER deception!!! But then, that's how these fanatical types are, never wiling to assume responsibility for their own actions and always looking to blame the other guy. The setting was very good, very authentic for late fifties/ early sixties suburban London, and the period was captured perfectly.

writerasfilmcritic "Pack of Lies" is a very interesting drama which is aptly named. MI5 agents, led by Alan Bates as "Stuart," skillfully manipulate a well-intentioned British family into believing that they are merely police on a routine investigation who need to use their home in the London suburbs "just for the weekend" in order to surveil a suspect who has been tracked into their neighborhood. As it becomes clearer what is really going on and what is at stake, the agents practically take over the house, the British couple are encouraged to lie to their teenage daughter about the unseemly details they have learned, and then the husband must lie to his increasingly distraught wife in order to spare her the trauma of the final ugly truth. Everyone must deceive the family's friendly neighbors by pretending that nothing at all is amiss, for it turns out that they are Soviet spies who have been lying their heads off to maintain their cover. In the end, as British agents close in for the inevitable arrest, Ellen Burstyn, as Barb, is subsumed in guilt, completely torn between her loyalty to her best friend, Helen (Teri Garr), while at the same time feeling totally gullible and cruelly betrayed by her. This is a great TV movie with excellent performances all around, but especially from Alan Bates, Teri Garr, and Ellen Burstyn. In fact, the latter is so convincing in her interpretation that at certain key moments it almost defies description.The interesting thing, of course, is that this effective movie is based on a true story, as was pointed out in another's comments. "Helen and Peter" seemed so affable and caring but were in fact part of the infamous atomic spy ring that gathered American nuclear secrets after WWII and transmitted them to the Soviets. They escaped the US when the Rosenbergs and others were arrested, only to surface in London some time later under assumed names.

jaybabb ***SLIGHT SPOILERS*** This movie is about two Families who are close friends and they do everything together. They go to art class, shopping and they visit each other. They have such a bond with each other, they're lives are wrapped up in this friendship--there's nothing that can break up this friendship.......or is there??????Underneath the apparent innocence of Helen(Terri Garr)and her husband Peter is a dirty secret-they are both Russian spies. One day, a British agent named Stewart(Alan Bates)pays them a visit. He tells them that they are looking for a man who has been seen in the neighborhood by the name of Powell. Stewart Asks them to corporate with them-so he can keep an eye on the neighborhood from their upstairs bedroom window. If that was all there was to it-then it's not too bad....but it goes from bad to worse.When Powell is seen leaving Helen & Peter's, the chain of events that follows is the beginning of a fall-from which there was no getting up from. Barbara(Ellen Burstyn) and her husband are asked by British agents to allow them to spy on Helen & peter-24 hours a day. A 24 hour watch as they call it. And of course, they had to maintain secrecy. This means a pack of lies-not only on the part of Helen & Peter-but Barbara had to lie too-to maintain secrecy. They could not under any circistances let Helen & Peter know what is going on.I know how easy it is to feel for Barbara & her husband, after all they were lied to & been betrayed by their best friends. There's another issue here-that is national security. Helen & Peter are guilty of passing classified information to the Russians-this constitutes espionage-and It is against the law. And it's very dangerous. They violated the law-so they go to prison.It's a shame, isn't? to have best friends-who are spies?