Argo: I had a chance to see this two nights ago. $7.50 Tuesdays at
Cineplex, which is a far cry from $2.50 Tuesdays as I remember them
“back in the day” but it’s still almost half price! So I will head
out to the movies more often on Tuesday nights! This was one of the
films available at TIFF and I had wished to have seen it then. But
it was full and I waited. I am glad that I saw it. Ben Affleck as
Director has a good way about him and the camera. He sets the scenes
well and finds a way to create suspense in a film where you don’t
anticipate much (we know how it ends). Still there were tense
moments as these people are looking to get removed out of a volatile
situation.
The film begins with a 3 minute overview of the politics in
Iran/Persia and how the US has impacted the situation by instilling
the Shah, who used his power to kill detractors and pillage the country. So then
we have this crisis situation arise where the US embassy is taken over
and some of the people escaped to the Canadian Consulate. If the
movie is to be believed, the CIA and US Intelligence created the whole
scheme. We as Canadians were there for posterity sake and let the
Americans do the heavy lifting. I think that the impact and
influence of the Canadian ambassador is downplayed here. Everyone on
this team put their lives at risk to try and get these people out.
There were some overly dramatic aspects of it near the end that I am
most certain did not occur. Still it is a compelling story and done
well. Affleck is strong in his role along with a strong supporting
cast. The Hollywood angle is played very well with John Goodman and
Alan Arkin. The hostages themselves are solid too in showing the
tense situation and stresses that they must have been agonizing over
especially since there were people being hanged in the streets.
If you get a chance, try and check this out. Not necessarily a big
screen film but good. Could potentially have some Oscar nominations I
would guess. Others I want to see are Looper and Arbitrage.
Mondays With Robbie 