Argo (2012) - Movie Review

Argo is one of those stories that sounds so unbelievable that I guess it had to be true, and features a plan so crazy that it had to work.

Set during the Iranian Revolution in 1979, the U.S. Embassy is overrun and most of it's staff are taken hostage.  A small group escapes and hides in the home of the Canadian ambassador.  Due all the chaos and shredding of the records, it's not noticed that six people are unaccounted for.  However, time is running out and if they are found in the ambassador's home, it will be bad for Canada's status in Iran and likely death for the Americans.  One thing that was nice about the opening of the film is that it gives you a quick history lesson about the events leading up to this revolution.  This is a nice touch for those of you not up on your history, or too young to recall the events as they happened.

CIA specialist Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) is brought in to evaluate the existing plans to extract them.  The flaws in all plans are quickly pointed out by Mendez, but can't think of a better plan himself.  He's later inspired when watching a sci-fi movie on TV with his son.  He'll go into Iran posing as a Canadian film crew scouting locations, meet up with Americans, train them, and then fly them all out together.

The plan is only as good as the details, so Mendez contacts a Hollywood make-up specialist John Chambers (John Goodman) to help with the cover story.  Chambers brings in successful producer Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin), who says that nobody will buy the cover unless there's a script and Hollywood actually believes the movie is being made.  You need to generate buzz.  They find a script for a sci-fi called Argo, a Star Wars ripoff.

You'd think they could gloss over this part, but this is practically a movie all to itself.  Storyboards are created, actors are hired, awful costumes are made, Hollywood parties are thrown and script readings are done.  Ads for Argo show up in Variety, and a fake movie is born.  This is also where a lot of the humor and surprising amount of fun comes from.  Alan Arkin and John Goodman are both great in their roles and are clearly having a lot of fun with it.  I finished watching Argo wanting to know more about these two and wishing they could come up with a way to give them a spin-off movie of their own.

The cast is stacked and everyone is so good that it's really hard to say that anyone stands out.  It reminded me of recent Steven Soderbergh films where you have guys that could be the leads in other films (like Bryan Cranston or Kyle Chandler) playing small roles as part of this large ensemble.  Ben Affleck seems to have that same ability to work with actors that Soderbergh has.  There aren't any throwaway characters or performances, and you manage to care about everyone despite not spending very much time with them.

Speaking of Ben Affleck, how does a guy go from being someone that most everyone barely took seriously not even ten years ago, to one of the best directors out there?  He's managed to do this in just three films, with each better than the last.  Argo is his best effort yet.  There's so much attention to detail, and you'll notice this from the outfits, the makeup, and even the overall look of the film.  It looks like something actually made back in the 70's.  Even the old Warner Brothers logo is used as the movie begins.  As the credits roll, you see side-by-side pictures of the real-life person and the actor playing them, and the resemblance between all of them is uncanny. Ironically, the one person that really didn't look at all like his real-life counterpart was Ben Affleck. It's kind of a surprise when he gets the details right in so many other areas that he didn't consider a different actor.  There's nothing wrong with the performance though, and I think he helps having a bigger name in the lead role.  Besides, Affleck was the bomb in Phantoms, yo!

Another impressive thing about the movie is how much tension there is in the film, despite knowing the outcome before the movie even starts.  I was on the edge of my seat as we reached the conclusion and there's a satisfying emotional payoff.  Members of the audience applauded even before the movie ended.

I know it's early in the Oscar season, and I'm sure I'm going to say this a few more times this year, but Argo really is an Oscar worthy film and Affleck should be nominated for his direction as well.

Argo is a truly great film that's nail-biting, exciting and is a blast to watch.  It proves the old saying that truth is stranger than fiction.  Ben Affleck also solidifies himself as one of the best directors working today.  This is one of the best movies of the year and one you shouldn't miss.

5 (out of 5) Death Stars

Celeste and Jesse Forever (2012) - Movie Review

When we first meet Celeste (Rashida Jones) and Jesse (Andy Samberg), they come off as an almost annoyingly cute couple.  They enjoy hanging out together, profess their love for each other and share all kind of inside jokes. However, when having dinner with friends, Beth and Tucker, Beth (Ari Graynor) snaps that she can't take this anymore. You see, Celeste and Jesse have been separated for six month and in process of divorce. For their friends, their continued relationship is unhealthy, but C & J don't see anything wrong it. They are still good friends and don't understand why they can't remain that way. To everyone else, they look like two people that can't move on.

Celeste, a successful business woman, grew tried of Jesse's unemployed artist shtick and his lack of motivation to work.  She didn't see herself having kids with him, so she ended the relationship.  Jesse, however, thinks Celeste will come back around if he waits it out.

His friend and marijuana dealer, Skillz (co-writer Will McCormack), convinces Jesse to get back out there and date more.  He does and reconnects with a girl he hooked up with a few months back, and decides to make things work with this new girl.  When Jesse tells Celeste, she has a hard time dealing with this and she tries to get back out there herself, with mixed, and sometimes hilarious, results.  She also encounters some professional difficulty, so things spiral out of control for her and nearly hits rock bottom.

One thing I really liked about Celeste and Jesse Forever was that it doesn't turn to all the typical romantic comedy cliche's where you know that everything is going to lead back to them getting back together.  C&JF isn't about that.  It's about actually breaking up, moving on and finding happiness elsewhere.  Another thing I really enjoyed about the movie was that the characters were flawed, even unlikable at times, but realistic.

It's not a perfect film though.  I felt that the humor was a little inconsistent, maybe a little too broad throughout the movie.  Also, I was having difficulty getting into Celeste and Jesse Forever initially. The audience was laughing, but I couldn't help be think they were trying too hard to be cute. After about 15 minutes though, I settled in and as I learned more about the characters, I became invested in where things were going to go.  Don't get me wrong though, the movie is funny, but it just took me a bit to warm up to it.

I've been on a theme of simplification lately.  Celeste and Jesse needed it.  There were too many characters and subplots going on.  The movie drags a little bit, so trimming a few of these characters from the film would have make this a much tighter and interesting film.  I'm not sure this is correct, but the run time is listed at 90 minutes.  It felt longer than that.  Looking at the clock after the movie was over, it certainly seemed closer to 100 minutes or so.

It pains me to say it, as I liked the cast, but some of the characters were really throwaway.  Elijah Wood's character felt like it was in there just so Celeste could have a cliched gay friend, and was used for a few easy jokes.  There's a subplot with a Ke$ha-like character, played by Emma Roberts, that also wasn't needed to tell the story.  I liked both the characters, and I liked the performances, but the movie could have been told without them and those same points delivered by other characters already established in the film.  For example, towards the end you realize that Celeste and Jesse have been friends with Beth and Tucker since before any of them were dating. You wouldn't know that from the movie though.  Tucker (Eric Christian Olsen) really isn't given much to do in the movie, and it seemed like many of the points made to the Celeste and Jesse throughout the film, should have been delivered by Tucker and Beth, instead of being delivered by side characters.

I didn't realize until the credits rolled that this was co-written by Rashida Jones.  It makes sense as the story is really more about Celeste and her growth than Jesse.  As I've said earlier, her script cold have used some  simplifying, but I stilled liked how authentic the relationships and people felt. The movie also shows you that  Rashida Jones can carry a movie and is poised to take the next step to stardom.  I'm actually surprised this hasn't happened sooner for her, as I thought she was great in I Love You Man and on Parks & Recreation.    Her chemistry with Andy Samberg was believable and it was nice to see Samberg show a more serious side.  I haven't said much about Samberg, as the story doesn't focus on him much as it moves on, but he does get a chance to show some range and that there's more to him post-SNL.

Celeste and Jesse Forever is a realistic look at a breakup and moving on.  This may hit a little too close to home for some you, especially if you've either gone through a breakup like this or know someone that has.  It's a frustrating, emotional roller coaster that nobody wants to deal with.  As far as indie dramedies go, much like Ruby Sparks, this is a different look than what you typically see and worth watching.  It's funny and smarter than your average dramedy.  I recommend it as a matinee, but it may not be the best date movie since it's about a breakup.

3.5 (out of 5) Death Stars

Ruby Sparks (2012) - Movie Review

How much easier would dating be if you could just dream your ideal woman/man into existence?

When we first see Calvin (Paul Dano) wake up in his very nice, Los Angeles pad, I was worried that this was going to be yet another movie where someone is somehow living in an expensive place well beyond their means.  This has always been a huge pet peeve of mine in movies. That's actually not the case here, as we learn that Calvin is an author that had the fortune of writing a very successful novel at a young age.

Calvin lives alone, and recently had a bad break-up.  His only real friend is his brother, and he went as far to get a dog to help him socialize.  This hasn't helped though, as his dog is scared of strangers.  His therapist (Elliott Gould), trying to help him through a bad case of writers block, gives him a simple writing assignment.  Calvin's been having a recurring dream about a mystery woman, so he begins to write about her.  Newly inspired, he flushes this character out to the point where she feels real and starts to fall in love with her.

One day, he wakes to find this girl, Ruby Sparks, in his kitchen having breakfast.  The movie never explains how or why, other than basically explaining away it away as magic.  They don't really fixate on this though, and the movie just asks you to go with it.  Calvin initially thinks he's going insane and Ruby is a product of his imagination, but he quickly realizes that she's real and is exactly how he's written her.

Writer Zoe Kazan, who also plays the title character, took a pretty interesting concept and played around with it.  She took the indie movie trope of the quirky, dream girl and put her in a normal relationship.  Things are great until you realize that Calvin really isn't all that great of a boyfriend. He's possessive, socially awkward and not very outgoing.  Ruby starts to get bored and attempts to make her own friends and do things on her own.  Unable to deal with this, Calvin tries to change Ruby.  At this point, the movie takes a turn for the dark and a little creepy.  You genuinely feel bad for Ruby the more Calvin interferes.

The film gets a nice boost from all of the supporting characters.  Calvin's brother, Harry, played by Chris Messina, has a lot of fun being the only other person that's aware of Ruby's true origins. There's another great part of the movie where they all go visit Calvin's mother (Annette Bening) and her current boyfriend (Antonio Banderas).  They are all just having fun enjoying life, except for Calvin, who does nothing but read and seem embarrassed by his family.  It's really hard to like Calvin at this point.  Steve Coogan has a small role and I always enjoy seeing him.

Paul Dano is an actor I've never quite been able to get into.  I just don't see what it is about him. However, I think this was a role tailor made for him and he did a good job with the rule.  I also came away really liking Zoe Kazan's performance.  Her script forces her to be all over the place as her character changes, and she showed a lot of range.  While not 'conventionally beautiful', she has a special quality about her, and it's hard to take your eyes off her anytime she's on screen.

One of the cool things about Ruby Sparks is there are a lot of different ways you can look at this movie.  It's very smart in that regard.  For me, the movie was as much about how flawed Calvin is and his idea of an ideal girl, as it is about Ruby.  Nobody is perfect, not your current girlfriend, and not your ex, even when she's "Baby Jessica" from True Blood (Deborah Ann Woll).  Trying to forcibly change them never has good results.

After a six-year hiatus from directing Little Miss Sunshine, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris are back to direct Ruby Sparks.  I'm not sure why they took so much time off from directing, but I hope they continue to make films.  This is someone from someone that is in the small minority of people really didn't like Little Miss Sunshine.

My biggest problem with the movie is that it leads up to an ending, which while cute, didn't feel earned and I think it undermined the film a bit.  I would have preferred an ending that was a little more in line with the rest of the film's tone.

I really enjoyed Ruby Sparks.  It's one of those movies that kind of sticks with you, and I'm still thinking about it days after.  This is one of the smarter, and despite the magic element, more realasitc looks at romance and relationships that you're going to see this year.  Sure, it can be a little dark at times, but it's still something you can have fun with.  As this is in limited release, most of you likely won't have a change to see this in the theater, unless you have access to a place like The Vine.  It's worth a matinee, but I highly recommend renting this otherwise.

4 (out of 5) Death Stars