Movie Review: Argo

Based on true events, Argo chronicles the covert operation to rescue six Americans, which unfolded behind the scenes of the Iran hostage crisis.

On November 4, 1979, as the Iranian revolution reaches its boiling point, militants storm the U.S. embassy in Tehran, taking 52 Americans hostage. But, in the midst of the chaos, six Americans manage to slip away and find refuge in the home of the Canadian Ambassador. Knowing it is only a matter of time before the six are found out and likely killed, a CIA "exfiltration" specialist named Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) comes up with a risky plan to get them safely out of the country.

 

Based On These Books 

The Master of Disguise: My Secret Life in the CIA by Antonio J. Mendez
The Great Escape by Joshuah Bearman

My Thoughts
Dean and I went to see this movie yesterday afternoon. I chose this movie because it was based on a true story and had high ratings. I admit that I usually stick with romantic comedies, but I decided to get out of my comfort zone and watch something that might have more violence than I wanted to see.

The movie began with showing the Iranians rioting in the streets of Tehran and storming the U.S. Embassy in retaliation for our country's support of the deposed Shah. The Embassy staffers seemed to be in denial about the capabilities of the Iranians...until it was too late. The Embassy staff members were instructed to shred and burn sensitive materials in their final moments of freedom.

Six U.S. Embassy staffers went out the front door of the Embassy and were admitted to the residence of the Canadian Ambassador. This is the story about how the CIA came up with a plan to rescue these six Americans.

Tony Mendez, played by Ben Affleck, came up with an amazing idea to get the the Americans out of Iran and back to freedom. They created a fake movie with all the frills and planned to say the Americans were a Canadian film crew. This crew was in Iran to shoot some movie scenes.

There were many nail-biting scenes, but this escape was pulled off without a single shot being fired. The last ten minutes of the movie was very tense. The Iranians realized that they had made a mistake and literally chased the airplane that carried the Americans down the runway. WOW!

This movie features a real American hero who could not be recognized for many years because of national security considerations. The movie is not for children or the faint of heart, but it is based on facts and highly recommended to all who want to see what was going on behind the scenes at a crucial time in our country's history.

Favorite Quotes
Jimmy Carter: "Actions in Iran have shocked the civilized world. The Embassy had been seized and more than 60 American citizens continue to be held as hostages."
Tony Mendez: "I got an idea. They're a Canadian film crew for a science-fiction movie. I fly into Tehran, we all fly out together as film crew."
Jack O'Donnell: "This is the best bad idea we have sir..."

My Rating: 5 Stars Out Of 5

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Movie Review: Hope Springs

Kay: "It feels like Arnold and I aren't going towards anything anymore. I want a real marriage again."
Eileen: "I think for that to happen you would have to risk everything just to shake things up."

Kay (Meryl Streep) and Arnold (Tommy Lee Jones) are a devoted couple, but decades of marriage have left Kay wanting to spice things up and reconnect with her husband. When she hears of a renowned couple's specialist (Steve Carell) in the small town of Great Hope Springs, she attempts to persuade her skeptical husband, a steadfast man of routine, to get on a plane for a week of marriage therapy. Just convincing the stubborn Arnold to go on the retreat is hard enough - the real challenge for both of them comes as they shed their bedroom hang-ups and try to re-ignite the spark that caused them to fall for each other in the first place.

My Thoughts
We tend to fall into daily routines that are predictable and difficult to change. This is the story of a 50ish couple who have been married for 31 years. They seldom talk to each other and they sleep in separate rooms. They have not had sex for over five years.

Kay wants to find out if REAL change is possible. Can you teach an old dog new tricks? Kay is determined to find out.

The scenes with Dr. Feld, the marriage counselor, are hilarious. Arnold does not think there is anything wrong with his marriage. He does not think he needs to change. My very favorite quotation in the movie is when the marriage counselor asks Arnold the following question;

Arnold: "You come up here for one week and you're supposed to have a new marriage?"
Dr. Feld: "Arnold, your wife is very unhappy and you have to ask yourself, 'have I done all I could?'"

Kay and Arnold renew the physical and emotional intimacy in their marriage. It is a slow process, but it is worth the effort. This is a wonderful "date night" movie for couples who are not afraid to dream of new ways of connecting and loving.

This is not an action-packed show that will have you sitting on the edge of your seats. There are times when the movie is not really entertaining. The purpose of this movie is to explore the complicated interactions between a man and a woman who live in the same house but are no longer connected.

Dear Readers, are you willing to risk everything just to shake things up? Are YOU doing all you can to make your marriage the best it can be?

My Rating:  4 Stars Out Of 5

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The King's Speech

This morning was cold and icy in southeast Texas.  The roads were treacherous so my husband stayed home from work.  This afternoon the roads were much improved so we went to the movie theater and saw "The King's Speech".  This show is a historical drama that tells the story of King George VI and Lionel Logue, the king's speech therapist.  The movie opens in 1925 with Prince Albert, Duke of York, speaking to a large group of people in Wembly Stadium.  The Prince had a severe speech impediment and could only speak a few words without stuttering and stammering.  Prince Albert was deeply embarassed by this experience.  Prince Albert's wife persuaded him to see an Australian speech therapist in London named Lionel Logue.  The two men embarked on a long journey of speech therapy, confidence building and friendship.  Prince Albert became King George VI when his brother abdicated the throne to marry Wallis Simpson.  Lionell continued to work with the King during his tenure as King of England.  I think the highlight of the movie was toward the end when Mr. Logue coached the King before he delivered his speech announcing that England would be entering in the war against the German Nazis in 1939.

I love history and this is the kind of movie that left me eager to learn more.  I came home and started researching the lives of Lionel Logue, King George VI and the entire Royal Family.  The movie was like a breath of fresh air.  This is a top-notch family movie and I highly recommend it.  I was happy to learn that the movie has been nominated for 12 Academy Awards.

Movie Review: The Social Network

Yesterday I went to the movie theatre to see The Social Network. This movie was based on the true story behind the origins of Facebook, the largest social network in the world.
The main character in this movie is Mark Zuckerberg, a co-founder of Facebook. Mark is a very talented computer programer and a student at Harvard University. The movie begins with Zuckerberg sitting in a pub with his girlfriend. She is trying to carry on a conversation with him, but he is totally into himself and is being rude and obnoxious. She decides that she has had enough and breaks up with him.
Zuckerberg goes back to his dorm room and decides to get revenge on his girfriend by setting up a web site where pictures of female Harvard students are compared and rated by male students. He hacks into the university computer system and downloads the pictures of all the female students. He calls the site Face Mash. This site is so popular that it crashes the Harvard servers and Zuckerberg is caught and disciplined by the school officials.
This is not the end of Mark's hacking and code writing endeavors. He has a few lucky breaks, connects with the right people and puts in some long hours of work. The movie plays up the "bad boys" angle and makes it seem like Zuckerberg and his colleagues are in party mode 24/7. Somehow I really doubt that.
I found this movie both fascinating and entertaining. If you are a Facebook fan, then I think you will really like this movie. Yes, sometimes bad boys come out on top. Mark Zuckerberg is now the world's youngest billionaire.

Post Grad - A Movie Review

I recently saw the movie Post Grad and would like to share my thoughts about it. This is a romantic comedy that takes place during the economic recession that we are dealing with right now. Many people should be able to relate to the frustration, anger and even desperation that plagues Ryden Malby, the main character in this movie.

Ryden has done everything right in planning a successful future. She graduates from college with excellent grades and has her heart set on a job as an editor at a big publishing company. She doesn't get her dream job and she soon realizes that she will have to move back home with her eccentric family until she can afford to get a place of her own.

The Malby family is a real hoot. Her father, Walter Malby, is always getting into some kind of hilarious situation. Walter backs over a neighbor's cat and presides over the cat funeral and burial. He also spends a night in jail for buying "hot" belt buckles on eBay and trying to sell them. Ryden's paternal grandmother, Maureen Malby, is a real delight. Maureen is played by Carol Burnett and I have been a Carol Burnett fan for a long, long time.

Ryden goes through several terrible jobs before she is finally hired at the large publishing company that she had her heart set on. She loves her job and finds herself working long hours. The problem is, she also has a guy friend who has been in love with her for years. Ryden does not realize how much she cares about Adam until she loses him. When Adam moves across the country to attend law school at Columbia, Ryden has a decision to make.

Does love trump career? Does Ryden leave her dream job and move to New York to be with Adam? What would you do?

This was an enjoyable movie that has some good laughs and some job searching situations that many people (young and older) can relate to . There are some slow parts during the show where I found myself snoozing off (I do that sometimes when I am sitting in a dark, quiet room.) I was kind of hoping for a different ending for Ryden, but it appears that young women are still willing to give up everything to keep a man. Been there, none that.

MOVIE RATING: 2.5 Stars (Out Of Four Stars)

District 9 - A Movie Review

When I choose a movie to watch, I usually pick a comedy, romance or biography. I do not consider shooting, killing, bombing, torture and screaming my kind of entertainment. I see enough of that kind of stuff on the evening news - I don't need to pay money to watch it on the big screen.

However, yesterday I decided to move out of my comfort zone and see District 9. I decided to see this movie for the following reasons;

• It was Supersaver Tuesday at my local movie theatre and I had a coupon for a free bag of popcorn.
• District 9 was the only adult movie with good reviews showing at the theatre that I usually go to ( I have already seen Julie & Julia and The Time Traveler's Wife.)
• Curiosity.

District 9 is a realistic science fiction story. The movie begins by telling how an alien spaceship became stranded over Johannesburg, South Africa, over twenty years ago. The aliens have been living in a compound that has become a filthy, atrocious slum. This compound is called "District 9".

The Johannesburg bureaucrats decide to evict the aliens from District 9 and move them to District 10, a camp outside the city. Wikus van de Merwe is in charge of evicting and moving the aliens.

Wikus is a happily married family man but he is a real goofus in his dealings with the aliens. He goes door-to-door trying to convince the aliens to sign an eviction notice. He seems to really care about the welfare of the aliens but he is soon overshadowed by the military zealots who are only interested in shooting, beating and killing the aliens.

I usually favor the underdogs in a story like this and I soon found myself rooting for the aliens. Poor Wikus was accidently sprayed by a mysterious black chemical that he found in an alien's house. He realizes that he is slowly turning into an alien.

Wikus is now the hunted instead of the hunter. He is forced to swallow a huge dose of his own medicine. There is more than enough Rambo-style shooting, killing, bombing and screaming in the rest of the movie. Sigh...

This movie has a strong message about human cruelty and prejudice. The aliens were persecuted because they were different...they had no voice and they had no choice.

MOVIE RATING: 3.5 STARS (Out of 4 Stars)

The Time Traveler's Wife - A Movie Review

The Time Traveler's Wife was adapted from the 2003 novel by Audrey Niffeneger. I was interested in this movie because the main character in the story is a librarian. Since I spent many years working as a librarian, I seem to be drawn to stories about libraries and librarians.

Henry DeTamble and Clare Abshire experience a kind of love that is not limited by time. The movie is both a love story and a science fiction fantasy. I found the beginning of the movie difficult to follow because it jumped from one period of time to another in Henry's life. I think I finally engaged in the story when Clare met Henry in the library and they got married.

Clare's love is put to the test many times because of Henry's disappearing acts. Henry had a disorder that was labeled "chrono-impairment" and he would randomly travel back or forward in time. Clare was bitterly disappointed when she wanted to be a mother but was unable to carry a baby to term. She eventually gives birth to a little girl named Alba, who is also a time traveler.

I thought the interactions between Henry and Alba were especially heart wrenching. The way that Henry died was extremely ironic - I am NOT a hunting enthusiast. A happy family reunion at the end of the movie emphasized the theme that true love never ends.

I have to admit that I started reading the book when it first came out but lost interest and never finished it. The same thing almost happened during the movie. The action jumped around from one period of time to another so much that my head was spinning. It all kind of came together at the end for me. I would like to re-read the book to find the details that the movie left out.

MOVIE RATING: THREE STARS (out of four).

Julie and Julia - A Movie Review

I recently saw the movie Julie and Julia - I liked it. I have listed some of the things I especially liked below:

• This story is based on a blog. Julie Powell was a young woman who was looking for a challenge. She came up with the Julie/Julia Project in 2002 and she recorded all the details of her experience in a blog. Julie pledged to cook the 536 recipes in Mastering The Art of French Cooking, Volume One (1) by Julia Child. She had one year (365 days) to achieve her goal.
• The movie is based on two true stories; the life of Julie Powell and the life of Julia Child. Meryl Streep did a fabulous job playing the part of Julia Child. Julia learned to cook while living in France with her husband Paul. Julia was the only woman enrolled in her first cooking classes in France. Cooking soon became her passion.
• I liked the humor in the movie. Some of Julie's cooking experiences were hilarious. After watching this movie, I will never cook a lobster...NEVER!
• Julie was very real. She struggled with her job, finances and marriage. She was frequently discouraged and almost quit her cooking project numerous times.
• This movie was an inspiration. It showed how two women found something they were passionate about and changed the world.

Could you or I do what Julie did? I think we could. It would take focus, determination and commitment. What "project" would you like to start? I would love to hear from you.

MOVIE RATING: Great ~ I would love to see it again!