Argo (2012)

October 25, 2012May 24, 2013 Dave Adrienne Barbeau, Aidan Sussman, Alan Arkin, Ali Saam, Araz Vahid Ebrahim Nia, Argo, Argo Review, Barry Livingston, Ben Affleck, Bill Kalmenson, Bill Tangradi, Bob Gunton, Bryan Cranston, Chris Messina, Chris Terrio, Christopher Denham, Christopher Stanley, Clea DuVall, Danilo Di Julio, David Sullivan, J.R. Cacia, Jamie McShane, John Boyd, John Goodman, Jon Woodward Kirby, Joshuah Bearman, Karina Logue, Keith Szarabajka, Kelly Curran, Kerry Bishe, Kyle Chandler, Lindsay Ginter, Matt Nolan, Matthew Glave, Michael Parks, Nikka Far, Omid Abtahi, Page Leong, Richard Dillane, Richard Kind, Rob Brownstein, Roberto Garcia, Rory Cochrane, Ryan Ahern, Scoot McNairy, Shelia Vand, Tate Donovan, Taylor Schilling, Tim Quill, Titus Welliver, Victor Garber, Victor McCay, Yuri Sardarov, Zeljko Ivanek

Summary:As the Iranian revolution reaches a boiling point, a CIA ‘exfiltration’ specialist concocts a risky plan to free six Americans who have found shelter at the home of the Canadian Ambassador. They must shoot a film in Iran.

Year: 2012

Australian Cinema Release Date: 25th October, 2012

Australian DVD Release Date: TBA

Country: USA

Director: Ben Affleck

Screenwriter: Joshuah Bearman (article), Chris Terrio

Cast: Omid Abtahi (Reza Borhani), Ben Affleck (Tony Mendez), Ryan Ahern (Sgt. Sickmann), Alan Arkin (Lester Siegel), Adrienne Barbeau (Nina), Kerry Bishe (Kathy Stafford), John Boyd (Lamont), Rob Brownstein (Landon Butler), J.R. Cacia (Brice), Kyle Chandler (Hamilton Jordan), Rory Cochrane (Lee Schatz), Bryan Cranston (Jack O’Donnell), Kelly Curran (Princess Aleppa), Christopher Denham (Mark Lijek), Danilo Di Julio (Sgt. Gauthier), Richard Dillane (OSS Officer Nichols), Tate Donovan (Bob Anders), Clea DuVall (Cora Lijek), Nikka Far (Tahran Mary), Victor Garber (Ken Taylor), Roberto Garcia (Sgt. William Gallegos), Lindsay Ginter (Hedley Donovan), Matthew Glave (Col. Charles W. Scott), John Goodman (John Chambers), Bob Gunton (Cyrus Vance), Zeljko Ivanek (Robert Pender), Bill Kalmenson (Hal Saunders), Richard Kind (Max Klein), Jon Woodward Kirby (Fred Kupke), Page Leong (Pat Taylor), Barry Livingston (David Marmor), Karina Logue (Elizabeth Anne Swift), Victor McCay (Malick), Scoot McNairy (Joe Stafford), Jamie McShane (William J. Daugherty), Chris Messina (Malinov), Araz Vahid Ebrahim Nia (Moradi), Matt Nolan (Peter Genco), Michael Parks (Jack Kirby), Tim Quill (Alan Sosa), Ali Saam (Ali Khalkhali), Yuri Sardarov (Rossi), Taylor Schilling (Christine Mendez), Christopher Stanley (Thomas L. Ahern Jnr.), David Sullivan (Jon Titterton), Aidan Sussman (Ian Mendez), Keith Szarabajka (Adam Engell), Bill Tangradi (Alan B. Golacinski), Shelia Vand (Sahar), Titus Welliver (Bates)

Runtime: 120 mins

Classification:M

Dave Griffiths’s ‘Argo’ Review:

Ben Affleck may as well start preparing room on one of his shelves because he’ll soon be bringing home a new friend named Oscar. While many films are dubiously called ‘film of the year’ Argo isn’t just one that truly deserves that title, it actually deserves to be called one of the films of the generation.

Based on real events Argo is set in late 1979 and early 1980 when a group of American Embassy workers are taken hostage during a revolution in Iran (then called Tehran). What worries the American Government even more is the fact that some of the workers escaped the embassy and need to be rescued from where they are hiding in the Canadian Ambassador’s House. With their lives in danger the government wants them rescued as quickly as possibly but with guards patrolling all the airports it is going to take a very special story to get past them.

Enter CIA Agent Jack O’Donnell (Bryan Cranston – Total Recall, Rock Of Ages) who turns to one of his top operatives, Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck – To The Wonder, The Town) to come up with a believable story. However when Tony gets famous producer John Chambers (John Goodman – Flight, Trouble With The Curve) and director Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin – Arigo, The Muppets) on board to try and trick the Iranian Government into thinking that Hollywood is about to film a sci-fi blockbuster in their country it is up to O’Donnell to try and get a list of people including Hamilton Jordon (Kyle Chandler – Super 8, TV’S Friday Night Lights) to see that this far-fetched plan could actually work.

While many have criticized Ben Affleck for some of the poor acting roles he has filmed over the years you certainly can’t criticise his directing skills. With films like Gone Baby Gone and The Town under his belt Affleck cemented himself as one of the most exciting directors going around. Argo tops any of them though and shows Affleck is in fact one of the most talented directors that Hollywood has ever seen.

Few directors manage to present suspense to their audience in the way that Affleck does with Argo. So tense are the scenes at the airport that the audience are on the edge of their seat yet Affleck still makes the film completely natural, he never milks it for theatrical effect and as a result the audience at the Melbourne media screening was so impressed they broke out into a round of applause… something that rarely happens with modern films.

The naturalistic feel to Argo enhances many scenes and when you see photographs of the actual events (and the people that took part in them) you can see that Affleck has gone for a brand of perfection that just goes to show what a fine director he really is.

Argo is a guaranteed Oscar winner and will go down in history as one of the finest movies ever made.

Other Subculture Media Reviews of ‘Argo′: http://www.helium.com/items/2384900-movie-reviews-argo-2012 Also check Episode #5 of our The Good The Bad The Ugly Podcast for a more in-depth review of ‘Argo’

Rating: 5/5

IMDB Rating: