Argo

Expectations:
In the midst of my busy schedule and ridiculously awful semester, it has been so nice to be able to go to the theater and "forget about life for a while" (Piano Man reference). I have been to the movies a few times over the past month, but I haven't had time to blog, so I will be playing catch up this week. Look out for more reviews soon! Because of my current stress, I'm pretty sure that I would love anything that I watched, so my expectations for Ben Affleck's Argo were not super high. If you have seen The Town, which was similarly directed by Affleck, you know that his films have an edgy, dark, dreary feel about them, and Argo looked to be no different. While I don't mind the darkness, it can get old after a while, so I was a little worried about that aspect of the film. However, I was hoping that the interesting and true story would be enough to overcome the feel of the movie.

Plot:
Honestly, it has been a very long time since I have really been THAT into a story. I was seriously on the edge of my seat. Then, I checked my phone to see what time it was, and the movie wasn't even half over! It really was THAT intriguing. Even The Dark Knight Rises wasn't this intriguing, with all the passion I had invested in it. Usually true stories are a tad too predictable, but that wasn't the case with Argo. In fact, although I expected a successful/happy ending, I couldn't figure out whether I was going to get one. Nevertheless, kudos to Affleck and his ability to write a great story. Also, the story was a lot less dreary than The Town, mostly due to the prescence of Alan Arkin's Lester Siegel and John Goodman's John Chambers. These two brought some great laughs, which took the edge off in a very good way.

Characters:
As I said, Arkin and Goodman's characters were brilliant, but they weren't the only impressive ones. Almost the entire cast was amazing, including Affleck, who must really love himself to keep giving himself these lead roles.

Negatives:
While there were very few negatives, I must say that Bryan Cranston was one of them. He is in like every single movie nowadays, and I guess I'm just sick of hearing about him and Breaking Bad, so there. Additionally, I wasn't too impressed with Tate Donovan's Bob Anders. It was nothing but a poor performance.

Positives:
Although I've never been a huge fan of his, Ben Affleck did great in every job that he took on with Argo. I did find his backstory and family situation a bit of an unnecessary addition to the story, but what do I know. Other than that, he was great! Scoot McNairy, who played Joe Stafford, gave the best performance of the hostages that Affleck was sent to rescue, probably because he was given the most screen time of the hostages. I do, also, love to watch Christopher Denham (another one of the hostages). He always intrigues me, because he is so gosh dern freaky. Finally, Alan Arkin stole the show, and should be given some serious award recognition for this role. I absolutlely loved his character.

Conclusion:
Typically, I find that movies stemming from true stories are either extremely sappy and emotional or overly historic and boring. Argo was none of the above. I really loved the way that Affleck was able to create so much drama and suspension with a true story and WITHOUT any action. I actually cannot remember a single action scene, which is very rare. Unlike The Town, Argo never had a single dull moment, and I loved it. I wouldn't be surprised if it was able to garnish some Oscar attention, as awards season quickly approaches. I give Argo 3.35 out of 5 stars.