Argo (Ben Affleck)

[TGM]

ARGO

Director: Ben Affleck

imdb

[megladon8]

The "true story" was Canadians.

Seems a bit weird that it was seemingly turned into an "America! Fuck yeah!" story.

[transmogrifier]

Canada needs to make a movie where they are the first to the moon, out of revenge.

[Ezee E]

Certainly one of the best movies this year. Affleck's best by far.

[eternity]

Four stars; one for each hysterical coincidence in the third act.

[Lucky]

Pretty good. Certainly tense enough, but the hostages weren't humanized enough for there to be any substantial emotional payoff a la Apollo 13. Arkin is the standout.

Anyone else reminded of Michael Scott when they resorted to posing as an elementary school employee in order to get someone's attention?

[Boner M]

Four stars; one for each hysterical coincidence in the third act.

More like four stars, with .25 subtracted for each coinkydink.

Anyway, it was pretty entertaining if forgettable. Kinda disappointed that Affleck's films as director are getting progressively more ordinary (wish he hadn't cast himself either).

[Spinal]

Tense and engaging. I would say that the opening sequence works best. I liked the way the film uses archival footage. A few moments strained credibility and seemed a little too manipulative (the release of tickets at airport check-in, the phone call to the studio, the chase on the runway). I'm also not certain that there is a whole lot of story here. There's a set-up and a conclusion, but there isn't a whole lot in the middle. Still, the film should be commended for contextualizing Iranian anger and creating a palpable sense of tension.

[Spinal]

Just been reading up on the historical inspiration for this film. Boy, there were even more liberties taken with this story than I realized.

[Irish]

Just been reading up on the historical inspiration for this film. Boy, there were even more liberties taken with this story than I realized.

Read this.

http://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2012/11...laic-thinking/

[Spinal]

Read this.

http://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2012/11...laic-thinking/

Good stuff. I was caught up in the film as I was watching it, but I've felt kind of guilty for enjoying it ever since. Affleck's credits contain side-by-side pictures of images from both the film and historical inspiration as if to say, 'We did our research. You can trust us.' But it just doesn't seem like this film is very trustworthy historically. And while historical accuracy may not be essential for certain kinds of film, I think this is a movie that really needs to have that kind of integrity because it is dealing with sensitive relations between nations that are still a danger to each other.

[Dukefrukem]

Why does number8 get two votes?

This was great. Fantastic tension in the last act, I don't care about the coincidences/close calls. It works and it works great.

[Bosco B Thug]

Haven't read up on issues of historical accuracy, but the best thing about this movie is how it directly deals with the political history and society of Iran. It's essentially an American film that half takes place in Iran and can be said to be about Iran, so it has that much credit for that. Affleck is an idealist, and miraculously not a simple-minded one - Argo retains the sense of even-handedness and willingness to engage evenly about touchy matters that is in his other films.

But I was disappointed, I thought it was hugely uneven. It's generally saved by Affleck remaining a confident visual filmmaker, but it completely derailed for me once Hollywood enters the picture and suddenly begins to move in schematic Hollywood-scriptwriting shorthand. And Affleck does not know how to meld the politics with the "fun stuff" without it turning over completely, e.g. the table read/hostage negotiating parallel editing... blech.

A good finish, though. The previously awful "Affleck's son" stuff is redeemed as a way to bring a 70s political thriller into the realm of 00s Affleck film, with the political thriller cipher finding his way into affecting Affleck-style home and hearth appreciation.

[TGM]

Looks like I'm wrong. I could have sworn you used to be able to do it yourself.

Yeah, that option was available on the old site. Doesn't appear to be the case here, though. :\