Argo

Actors:  Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Victor Garber, Tate Donovan, Kyle Chandler
Rating:  9 out of 10, I felt transported back to my youth last night thanks to Argo, which depicts the rescue of six American diplomats from the Iran in 1980. The Iranian Hostage crisis – no American of my generation was not marked by this event. This was a seminal moment in American history, even if we didn’t realize it at the time. I was just an enlisted Soldier at that point but seeing my country so ineffectual in responding to those Iranian scumbags actually had a big part in my decision to seek a commission and make the military a career.   A large percentage of my 1980 OCS class felt the same way – we all hoped we would get a chance to kill Iranians in large numbers.  The movie itself was a revelation.  Affleck is turning into an extremely impressive movie maker. He even acts well in this!  The film does a great job of recreating the tensions and “feel” of the late 1970s without overdoing it.  In my view the movie tried to be even-handed, pointing out the failures of US policy in supporting the evils of the Shah while also demonstrating the Iranian people traded this evil for an even more fundamentally malevolent and sadistic one.  Seeing the 1970’s wardrobe fashion was a bit embarrassing – what were we thinking?  I really enjoyed this movie which was “adult” in that it creates a lot of tension without resorting to cheap tricks and trying to over explain things.  The stressful apprehension was almost like another character in the movie when Affleck reaches Iran until they clear Iranian airspace.  The understated, very human reactions of the cast sell this so much more effectively than an over dramatic action scene.  The scenes with Arkin and Goodman are also priceless as they skewer the self-important pretensions of Hollywood that semi-define the town nowadays. Hearing former President Carter voice over the credits was chilling as he was still trying to gain some traction for his totally incompetent presidency which was on full display in Argo.  I felt like yelling at the screen when I heard him – “Argo go F--- yourself”  
MVP:  Affleck, understated but so human as CIA agent Tony Mendez