Middle of the Row

We saw Argo last week and there's absolutely nothing wrong with it. 

It's a real accomplishment for Ben Affleck, who did a fine job with Gone Baby Gone(2007) and earned well-deserved raves for The Town(2010).

Any director who can wring moments of genuine suspense from a dramatized story the audience is already familiar with has my total respect.  I know the hostages make it out alive, but that didn't stop my heart from beating faster during the airport interrogation scenes.   

When the Oscar nominations are announced, I imagine Affleck will hear his name a couple of times.  Still, I don't think Argo is a better movie than The Master or Moonrise Kingdom or even Frankenweenie.  Argo is entertaining and well-crafted and totally worth your time, but I can't honestly say it's one for the ages.  It's good, it's great, I'm glad I saw it.  But it just didn't feel like high art to me.

To which Alan Arkin would surely say, "Argo fuck yourself."