Argo

3 Paws
Seen recently at Aksarben Cinema

I was too self-absorbed during the early eighties to pay more than scant attention to the Iran hostage crisis. Director Ben Affleck has given me a chance to redeem myself (well, kind of) with Argo, and I hung on every word and image.

I take back every snarky thing I ever said about the taller, darker half of the Good Will Hunting duo. He approaches this little piece of once-classified information with humor, a great sense of pacing and a keen eye for period detail (remember when everyone smoked?). It's just plain old great movie making. The cast of relatively unknown actors who play the six Americans makes you feel as though you're trapped inside the Canadian embassy with them, and the Hollywood connection (John Goodman and Alan Arkin) gives the film its warmth and somehow makes you proud to be an American.

Make sure you stay through the credits - the photo pairings and accompanying audio are well worth it.

Bonus Bones: 5
Look for the chained up guy who's howling like mad - he made the most of his short but incredibly focused screen time.