MOVIE REVIEW: Argo (2012)

I'm really excited for the way this year has been shaping up, so far as film goes. And while this year has been punctuated by some good political works and thrillers, Argo is a successful combination of the two, with an even more unique plot. Being a true story, makes this one icing on the cake.

After being treated to a retro, WB-logo opening, the audience is briefed on the global political situation in 1979: The cancer-ridden Shah of Iran is controversially granted asylum in the United States, leaving his country behind poor, and his people bitter; all allegedly due to his excessive lifestyle and forced Westernization. Later that year, angry Iranians storm the American embassy, taking hostages while six manage to escape, taking sanctuary in the Canadian embassy. In 1980, knowing the foreign-servicemen and women's time in Iran is short, CIA agent Tony Mendez plans an extradition involving a false Canadian film production for a sci-fi sleazefest called "Argo." Once in Iran, Mendez needs to appease both the government and his countrymen that he needs to rescue, before executing the operation itself.

Argo is a caper film that feels very much like a product of it's time, and that's a good thing. Thrillers were among the top of their game around this point in time, at least what I've seen on an international scale. There's not a whole lot of action, but instead replaced by tense moments, human drama, and skilled attempts at making documentary/news footage relevant with what's happening. Essentially, the film is broken down into three tangible acts where the rescue operation is chronicled. By the time the film reaches the third act, you know how it's going to go down, but you're just as scared as the Americans as director Ben Affleck jumps us through Hitchcockian-hoops of tension that had my audience audibly gasping for air after these moments passed.

So then, the one area where Argo does feel a little strange is during the Hollywood sequence, where Mendez needs to find a pitch for the film. It's highly comical, lighthearted, and entertaining (with a hilarious performance by Alan Arkin, as a cantankerous producer), but felt a little out of place with the cold sincerity of the rest of the film. It's really hard to fault one part that happens to be highly entertaining, it's just a litte inconsistent with the tone of everything else.

Nonetheless, Argo is a tense, character-driven thriller that is definitely worth your time, and possibly one of the better films that you'll see all year. I won't be surprised if it picks up a few nods over the course of next year.

9/10

Peace,
- Jon

MOVIE REVIEW: Lincoln (2012)

Steven Spielberg, ever the consummate filmmaker, delivers a pensive, and thought-provoking account of President Abraham Lincoln's last four months in office. As with most films who's subject is a non-fictional character, I entered Lincoln with a sense of open-mindedness in considering which direction the story will go in. Although I would have liked to have seen some other areas of Lincoln's story elaborated on, as a film on his greatest achievement, this is a fine work, indeed.

Written by acclaimed playwright Tony Kushner, the story deals with the battles Lincoln undertook from within his cabinet to get the 13th Amendment, the Emancipation Proclamation, ratified in an attempt to end the Civil War. By abolishing slavery in the Union, Lincoln was convinced this amendment would make the Union look more sympathetic to abolitionists and slaves alike. Along with the ensuing political gridlock, he audience also gets a glimpse into his family life, detailing his strained marriage to his wife, and struggle with his eldest son's choice to join the army.

This film, in general, is a treat for history buffs. Those who revel in production aesthetics will be overjoyed by the 1860s costumes, Colonial architecture, and the detail Kushner and the actors have paid towards the speech and dialogue. The acting is outstanding, and I wouldn't be surprised if Lincoln collects the SAG award for Best Ensemble this year. It's no surprise that the biggest stars deliver the most notable performances. Tommy Lee Jones steals every scene he's in as the curmudgeonous Thaddeus Stevens. Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln does not get a lot of screen time, but portrays Mrs. Lincoln's fragility and mercurial personality perfectly. Daniel Day-Lewis...words alone will not do justice for the talent he brings as our 16th president, right down to the distinct inflection of his voice he brings Lincoln to life. I expect to see much news of him, come awards season.

So my criticisms of Lincoln relate mainly to the execution of the story itself. The title implies a biography, but Lincoln is nothing of the sort; just a chronicle of the man's most important moment of his entire presidency. The title's basically a draw-in; it would've been more appropriate and honest to call it something more related to the subject matter. Speaking of which, the glimpses and melodrama we observe of Lincoln's family are some of the most dramatic moments from a theatrical perspective. It's not to say Spielberg wasted some fine opportunities to explore these areas, but when one looks at something like The Godfather and says there can't be an argument made for great character drama in a contrasting story, I become skeptical.

Nonetheless, I still consider Lincoln one of the best films, albeit a flawed one, that 2012 had to offer.

8/10

Peace,
- Jon

MOVIE REVIEW: Skyfall (2012)

Skyfall is, in my opinion, without a doubt, the best of Daniel Craig's James Bond films. It's the perfect storm of the series' capable present roster of actors, renowned director Sam Mendes (who's responsible for one of my favorites, American Beauty), and a crew of reputable technicians with equally impressive resumes (I'm not kidding, there's at least 10 Oscar nods among the principals in the main credits). After a solid, but thematically jarring debut with Casino Royale and the underwhelmingly perfunctory Quantum of Solace, Skyfall is a welcome entry in the series that achieves something rare in James Bond films: It functions perfectly well as a stand-alone-film.

Of course, it would be a travesty not to mention Adele's exceptional eponymous title song that almost makes up for the trauma my ears endured from Alicia Keys and Jack White's "Another Way to Die." Adele, like the film itself, belts a tune that harkens back to James Bond's jazzy 1960s roots. It's a tragically romantic torch song with an incendiary beat that underlies the doom-and-gloom tone of the film, while still achieving a refined sound and infectious melody.

The film begins with Bond and his attractive female colleague Eve pursuing a terrorist in Turkey. Whilst fighting him atop a train, Bond is hit by friendly fire from Eve's sniper rifle and plummets into the ocean. Although Bond survives and lays low; taking a much-needed sabbatical filled with women and booze, his boss M starts taking heat from the British government (in the form of the Intelligence Committee Chairman, played by Ralph Fiennes) after a mysterious computer glitch outs the MI6 roster of "00 agents." Determined to unmask the culprit, M takes MI6 "underground," rehabilitates Bond, and hires a young hacker (who later beomes Q) to design new gadgetry for Bond. After identifying the culprit, the tables begin to turn as this cyberterrorist not only turns out to be crazy, but is out for revenge against MI6. 007 himself will need to get in touch with his past, in order to defeat this madman.

I thouroughly enjoyed everything about Skyfall in that it was such a fresh approach to a medium that has become long in the tooth. The best way I could describe this film can't even be with one adjective. It's a lot like The Dark Knight in that the film has a foreboding atmosphere and build-up towards very violent or tense conclusions. Since the series has reached it's 50th birthday, there are a lot of fun references thrown in to prior works; it's done in a refreshingly subtle way, and considerably less in-your-face than the last "anniversary Bond film," the over-the-top Die Another Day. Javier Bardem also gives a chilling performance as the villain, whose behavior strikingly resembles that of Heath Ledger's immortal rendition of The Joker. The rest of the main cast does well with the story, which does an interesting job of exploring more of Bond's past, all of which leads up to a gripping conclusion that opens the door to a more familiar direction for the series that Bond fans will likely be more comfortable with.

If there is any complaint to be had, it's that the film is very atypical-Bond when it comes to the more decadent aspects of the series. This is not one of those films where Bond gets to shmooze around with beautiful women and nice hotels (in fact, we only get one of those moments in Shanghai. His earlier escapades are sleazy, but not that explicit). Skyfall tones down these elements in order to put more focus on the main story. Even the main Bond girls are somewhat underplayed; Judi Dench, for the most part, is the film's "Bond girl" based on the amount of screen-time she shares with Bond, as well as her larger role in the story. It may be a bit disappointing for some fans, but more likely than not, something they will complain hinders the film, too much.

It's hard to say whether or not Skyfall is the best James Bond film ever made. To call one film in the series "the best" is arguably an objective notion when six different actors have played the same role in 23 films. Fans have their loyalties, and sentimentalities, as I have mine with GoldenEye. I would certainly argue that at this point in the canon of Daniel Craig's Bond films, Skyfall is the bloke's magnum opus. His tenure and the series will most likely take a different turn in the subsequent installment, but as the final chapter in his unofficial introductory "trilogy" as Bond, Skyfall takes chances, maintains a tense pace, and is simply an excellent spy/thriller in the vein of it's contemporaries that happens to masquerade as a "Bond film."

Until Christopher Nolan directs a James Bond film, well...this will just have to do for now.

9/10

Peace,
- Jon