Argo

A definite crowd pleaser. It may get some critical love but I do not see it getting much Oscar love in the end. Although we have got to wait for the rest of the movies this year to decide on that. It may make it to the top ten movies. A great intro that supplied background and bring the audience into the situation, but the one big problem for this movie (especially for a non-American audience) is that we do not care about the hostages. The first act was good (how to rescue the hostages?); the second act was a drag (no empathy for the hostages); in the third act, Affleck and Terrio tuned up the tension with cheap (and meaninglessly dramatic) scenes, quick cuts, and Desplat's score. Ben Affleck sure has improved as a director in his third outing, but he tend to over-indulge in showy shots which do not really serve any purpose. However, his attention to historical details was laudable. Unfortunately, I do not think he is Oscar-nominating calibre yet. Furthermore, he should stop casting himself in his shows if he wants to excel more. Besides he is one of the weaker actors of the ensemble. I said it before, and I'll say it again, John Goodman's agent need a raise. He and Alan Arkin were easily the best moments of the show. Cranston and Garber are always reliable. The other big names were too briefly on screen for much impact. As aforesaid, the hostages were not sympathetic, not too hard to insert a scene tugging at the heartstrings. Sadly, I think this was also one of Desplat's poorest/least memorable score. Ultimately, a crowd pleaser that unabashedly turned a real life implausible event into Hollywood entertainment. Affleck is running the risk of turning into Eastwood, "The Town" could just be his "Iwo Jima".