Acting under the cover of a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, a CIA agent launches a dangerous operation to rescue six Americans in Tehran during the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran in 1980.
During the Iraq War, a Sergeant recently assigned to an army bomb squad is put at odds with his squad mates due to his maverick way of handling his work.
Director:
Kathryn Bigelow
Stars:
Jeremy Renner,
Anthony Mackie,
Brian Geraghty
The story of King George VI of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, his impromptu ascension to the throne and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch become worthy of it.
Director:
Tom Hooper
Stars:
Colin Firth,
Geoffrey Rush,
Helena Bonham Carter
After a stint in a mental institution, former teacher Pat Solitano moves back in with his parents and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife. Things get more challenging when Pat meets Tiffany, a mysterious girl with problems of her own.
Director:
David O. Russell
Stars:
Bradley Cooper,
Jennifer Lawrence,
Robert De Niro
Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg creates the social networking site that would become known as Facebook, but is later sued by two brothers who claimed he stole their idea, and the co-founder who was later squeezed out of the business.
Director:
David Fincher
Stars:
Jesse Eisenberg,
Andrew Garfield,
Justin Timberlake
A young man who survives a disaster at sea is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor: a fearsome Bengal tiger.
A paraplegic marine dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he feels is his home.
Director:
James Cameron
Stars:
Sam Worthington,
Zoe Saldana,
Sigourney Weaver
In 1979, the American embassy in Iran was invaded by Iranian revolutionaries and several Americans were taken hostage. However, six managed to escape to the official residence of the Canadian Ambassador and the CIA was ordered to get them out of the country. With few options, exfiltration expert Tony Mendez devised a daring plan: create a phony Canadian film project looking to shoot in Iran and smuggle the Americans out as its production crew. With the help of some trusted Hollywood contacts, Mendez created the ruse and proceeded to Iran as its associate producer. However, time was running out with the Iranian security forces closing in on the truth while both his charges and the White House had grave doubts about the operation themselves. Written by
Kenneth Chisholm (kchishol@rogers.com)
As shown in this movie, by the late 1970s, the Hollywood sign (which had first been erected in 1923 as "HOLLYWOODLAND" to advertise an upcoming real estate development) had fallen into severe disrepair. In 1978, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce had a fund-raising campaign in which they solicited nine prominent people to give about $28,000.00 each (one donor for each letter) for the restoration. Some of these benefactors included: Playboy Magazine founder Hugh Hefner, who gave the Y; singers Gene Autry and Andy Williams (the second L and the W, respectively), and heavy metal/shock rock star Alice Cooper, who replaced the third O (by far the most damaged of the letters) in memory of Groucho Marx. Warner Bros. Records, a division of the company that later released Argo, donated the second O. However, this restoration was completed before the events depicted in this movie started. See more »
Goofs
When Tony Mendez and Jack O'Donnell go to the Office of the Secretary of State there is a woman typing at a desk, at the front of the desk there is an envelope with two stamps on it, one stamp is a 37 cent American flag design which was first used in 2002, the other is a 2 cent stamp issued in 2006 depicting Navajo jewelry. In 1980 a first class stamp cost 15 cents. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Sahar:
[narration]
This is the Persian Empire known today as Iran. For 2,500 years, this land was ruled by a series of kings, known as shahs. In 1950, the people of Iran elected Mohammad Mossadeqh, a secular democrat, as Prime Minister. He nationalized British and U.S. petroleum holdings, returning Iran's oil to it's people. But in 1953, the U.S. and Great Britain engineered a coup d'etat that deposed Mossadeqh and installed Reza Pahlavi as shah. The young Shah was known for opulence and ...
See more »
Crazy Credits
The movie opens with the 1970s-era Warner Bros. slash logo that eventually became the logo of Warner Music, which was designed by Saul Bass, instead of the traditional shield logo. However, the corporate copy below the logo refers to Time Warner, the current incarnation of Warner Communications since 1990, in the same typeface that was used decades ago. See more »
Concrete Jungle
Written by Roddy Byers (as Rod Byers)
Performed by The Specials
Courtesy of EMI Records Ltd.
Under license from EMI Film & Television Music See more »
This is supposed to be a historical drama but it completely distorts the truth, nearly completely negating the role of the Canadians who were responsible for extracting the hostages and reassigning all of the credit to CIA agents. It might make for good drama but it is a complete work of fiction barely based on a very few broad facts, and it should not be called a historical drama. It is also is an insult to those who were truly responsible for rescuing the hostages.
Look, this may be a fairly well executed drama with effective script, good direction, great costumes, and sets well chosen to appear authentic. But the tone is so blatantly pro-American and anti-Arab, and it is so full of lies and distortions about the facts of the events, that calling it a historical drama brings a sour a taste to my mouth. And its chances of earning an Oscar makes me throw up a little in my mouth. Is this the best you can do, Hollywood?
11 of 19 people found this review helpful.
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This is supposed to be a historical drama but it completely distorts the truth, nearly completely negating the role of the Canadians who were responsible for extracting the hostages and reassigning all of the credit to CIA agents. It might make for good drama but it is a complete work of fiction barely based on a very few broad facts, and it should not be called a historical drama. It is also is an insult to those who were truly responsible for rescuing the hostages.
Look, this may be a fairly well executed drama with effective script, good direction, great costumes, and sets well chosen to appear authentic. But the tone is so blatantly pro-American and anti-Arab, and it is so full of lies and distortions about the facts of the events, that calling it a historical drama brings a sour a taste to my mouth. And its chances of earning an Oscar makes me throw up a little in my mouth. Is this the best you can do, Hollywood?