Argo

Argo
(2012) [Trailer]
Director: Ben Affleck [IMDB]

One thing the Williams brothers here at East Village Film Society like to do is watch movies... in fact... we often times watch the same ones. You may recall, if you follow the blog, that Steve reviewed Argo back in October. At the time I was in the middle of a move and couldn't get out to see this title. Well, as luck would have it, tonight I finally got to pop on this bad larry and do some damage. Giddy up.

Synopsis: The middle east is a crazy place.

Argo is a structurally sound movie and well crafted. Ben Affleck keeps proving that he's a directoral force with each release and Argo is no exception. It's a suspenseful ride and doesn't really waste too much time getting into things. The acting is all fantastic, I especially enjoyed Alan Arkin, even though he's not in it much.

The one negative for me was I knew the outcome and although it was a gripping film, you ultimately knew it was all going to work out in the end.

I don't think Argo is best movie of the year material, but it's a lot of fun and definitely worth your time.

Zero Dark Thirty

Zero Dark Thirty
(2012) [Trailer]
Director: Kathryn Bigelow [IMDB]

This title topped a lot of folks best of lists this year and I was hoping to squeeze it in before I posted mine, but that was not the case. Eitherway, I wanted badly to check this title out and got the chance to tonight... so here it is.

Synopsis: A dramatization of the hunt to track down and kill Osama Bin Laden.

So... I'm afraid even if Zero Dark Thirty made the deadline for my best of 2012 list, it would have ranked pretty low. I did enjoy this film and it's a sold procedural, but I wasn't mesmerized by it like everyone seems to be. It's a little slow to roll out and the last act is probably the best part of the film. Jessica Chastain was good and it was pretty cool to see Coach Taylor in there too. I think her character was a little too one note for me and there didn't seem to be a lot of depth to her. She was like a person on a mission, executing that mission and that's all that's there. I was into Zero Dark Thirty and entertained by it, but it just didn't feel really memorable or impactful.