PREVIEW:Argo

It's official ladies and gents. With the Golden Globes now behind us, and the BAFTAs and Oscars on the horizon, we are now in the midst of the Award Season and The Cinema at Gloucester Guildhall ensures to bring you the very best from 2013's cream of the crop.

This week we get off to a flying and thrilling start with the return of multi-faceted talent Ben Affleck. Whilst he may have made some 'questionable' acting decisions in the past via popular hits such as Armageddon, Pearl Harbour and Daredevil, he has managed to redeem himself by not only co-penning the Academy Award winning screenplay to Good Will Hunting with Matt Damon, but also emerging as a critically acclaimed director via his two previous films Gone Baby Gone and The Town.

His latest venture (for which he recently received the coveted Golden Globe for Best Director and Best Film-Drama) is Argo, a thriller that takes Affleck out of his home town of Boston, USA and this time into Iran to recount the events that occured behind the scenes of the Iran hostage crisis in the late 1970s-the truth of which was unknown by the public for decades. 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. 

With a top notch supporting cast including John Goodman, Alan Arkin and Bryan Cranston along with the legendary George Clooney and Grant Heslov on producing duties, Ben Affleck has produced what is quite simply his most accomplished film to date. Not only will it have you gripping your seat with excitement and tension but it will have you quietly chuckling at his often darkly comic tone. Above all, it presents to us the re-creation of an historical event that is not widely known in the public domain, but nevertheless boats a vivid attention to detail and fully fleshed characters to boot.

Its success at the Golden Globes, matched only by other prestigious accolades such as the Critic's Choice (Best Picture, Best Director) and a thoroughly deserved Special Achievement in Filmmaking award from the National Board of Review, could lead it to become the "dark horse" at the upcoming BAFTAs and Oscars for which it has 7 nominations a piece including Best Picture and Best Director. Win or no win though, this film deserves to be seen and where better than at your local arthouse. Here's to the next few weeks of nothing but excellent films!

*Ben Affleck doesn't merely direct Argo, he directs the hell out of it, nailing the quickening pace, the wayward humor, the nerve-frying suspense. There's no doubt he's crafted one of the best movies of the year.*

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

*Three films into his directing career, and Ben Affleck shows no sign of getting less good or slacking off with those serious mainstream movie ambitions.*

Tim Robey, Daily Telegraph

*Argo' is close to flawless*

Tom Huddleston, Time Out

Check out the trailer here:

Argo (15) opens on Monday 21st January and closes on Wednesday 23rd January with performances at 7:45pm including a Screen Tea at 2pm on Wednesday 23rd January.