Argo

It’s kind of an “easy A.” It’s adapted from a book based on a true story, it’s a period piece, it’s suspenseful, it’s political, it has a happy ending. It was practically guaranteed to garner a best picture nom before the cameras even rolled. Only a moron could fuck it up. Nevertheless, Ben Affleck and company go the extra mile, filming with an epic scope, pushing the suspense and basically nailing every aspect of this. The result is an almost perfect movie, combining suspense and drama, historical weightiness with Hollywood corniness. I found only brief moments of this to be hokey, like an excessive last-minute chase. But it’s lovingly hokey, a celebration of all old-fashioned Hollywood chases. A gloriously heroic, nick-of-time escape. They could have played Rossini’s William Tell Overture and it would have been okay. Kudos to Smokehouse, Affleck, and everyone involved.