Argo

It's been awhile since I've written a review. I've seen some movies since my last post, but haven't had time to write them. These past two weeks I was blessed with seeing 3 great films I would love to tell you about. The first is by sub-par actor turned fantastic director, Ben Affleck. He followed his first two movies (Gone Baby Gone, The Town) with a film that is sure to receive some Oscar nods this coming January. Ladies and Gentlemen... Argo.

Argo takes place in 1979 when Iranian revolutionists invaded the American embassy in Iran, taking 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. During the revolution, 6 Americans managed to escape the embassy and take refuge in the Canadian Ambassadors house during that time. The CIA soon follows with a plan to evacuate the six with a plan to have them fly out as a Canadian Film crew that has been there on a location scout.

Sounds crazy, but it's all true.

They even created a fake Studio, had a full script, story boards, everything to cover their tracks and get the Diplomats out safely.

In my opinion, one of the hardest things to do is to add suspense to a story most people already know from history. You have to keep people on the edge of their seats when they already know what happens in the end. Ben Affleck, along with a great editor, accomplished that.

This movie will keep your heart beating and muscles tense for nearly the entire first and final act. In the beginning, the seamlessly splice in actual archive footage of the events and match them with their reenactments, and it's almost impossible to tell and creates a feel as if you're watching it on the news for the first time.

I neither hated, nor loved Ben Affleck as an actor. He wasn't good or bad enough to really form an opinion. He was just kind of there. But his first three films as a director are better than most. And each one is better than the last. If this film isn't nominated for at least a Golden Globe, then I don't know how  they choose their nominations.

My Grade: A

P.S.... John Goodman.... That is all...