Wednesday, April 3, 2013

#87: "Argo"

Stats: 2012. Starring Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman. R.

Background: When Argo came out, I wanted to see it … but it didn't exactly come to a theater near me! My plan was to rent it from Redbox as soon as it showed up there. But one day (the day before the Academy Awards, actually), I saw it on display in Wal-Mart and bought it on the spur of the moment. My mom and I watched it that night, and we immediately threw our support for Best Picture behind it (for whatever it’s worth!).

Plot: When the American embassy in Iran is overtaken by revolutionaries and several embassy employees are taken hostage, six Americans escape to the Canadian ambassador’s home. CIA operative Tony Mendez comes up with a plan to bring the Americans home—but it will require the help of a Hollywood producer and the Canadian government, as well as a little luck!

Reactions: Oh my goodness! Even though I already knew the end result (it is historical, after all), the tension in this movie is incredible. What a fantastic story! Argo is phenomenal—totally worthy of the Best Picture Oscar.

It was fun for me to see Gary Hobson (Kyle Chandler) and Jimmy Cooper (Tate Donovan) in the film, and I especially loved the scenes with Arkin and Goodman as the Hollywood players. They added a great deal of levity to a very intense film!

I heard some complaints about the artistic license taken in the film. To me, though, it doesn't matter. The basics are the same, and if they changed a few details to add to the suspense, so what?

There is a considerable amount of swearing, so if you're sensitive to that, you may want to wait for the TV version or use a language filtering device (like Clearplay). But however you go about it, you should watch this film. It’s really, really good!

Verdict: Keep
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