Movie Review: Argo (2012)

If you only see one movie this year, make it Argo. 

Academy Award® winner Ben Affleck stars and directs this movie about the covert rescue of six Americans hiding out in the home of  the Canadian ambassador when militants storm the United States Embassy in Iran, taking 52 American hostages.

Based on real events, this dramatic thriller takes place in November 1979. Tony Mendez (Affleck), the CIA's top "exfiltration" specialist is tasked with coming up with a viable plan to get the six Americans in hiding out of Iran safely. His plan: to enter Iran under the ruse of scouting locations for a sci-fi adventure movie, where he will hook up with the six Americans and play them off as his production crew. For this, he'll need the help of Executive Producer Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin) and make-up artist John Chambers (John Goodman), along with support of his superior Jack O'Donnell (Bryan Cranston).

From the opening moments of this movie to the time the credits rolled, I was one hundred percent captivated. While still young when the historical events took place, I recall television news footage of the Iranian Hostage Crisis. Though my husband remembered this rescue, and how the Canadian government was given full credit for it to hide our government's involvement, and therefore, not further stress Iranian-American relations, I only recall the failed rescue attempt that resulted in the loss of American serviceman, an Iranian civilian, and two aircraft.

This is a powerful, action-packed movie. As politics, espionage, and danger mingle, the stakes rise higher and higher. You get a glimpse into what these militants were all about. How much they despised America's support of the Shah of Iran, and the lengths to which they were willing to go to keep the de facto Iranian government in power. You witness the deep desire in the CIA to see these Americans come home alive, and how desires can often be influenced by politics.

There isn't a dull moment in Argo. You are glued to your seat the entire time. I don't think anyone left the movie theater for 120 minutes. All the actors portrayed their parts well. You felt their fear. You felt the danger. You felt every emotion dripping from each of these actors. I was totally enthralled. I don't say this about many current movies, but I would love to see this one again.


Release Date: 12 October 2012 (USA)
Run time: 120 minutes
Rating: R for language and violence

I paid to watch this movie in the theater. This review contains my honest opinions, for which I have not been compensated in any way.

Patriot Acts by Steven Clark Bradley--Book Review

Hidden away in an Alaskan prison, serving time for a crime he never committed, Colonel Fisher Harrison thinks of revenge. His government forsake him and his Special Ops buddies and no one was meant to survive. If Fisher gets out of that hellish place, the man who put him there is going to pay.

But that man is now President of the United States and seemingly untouchable; until the Islamic Republic of Iran and radical American militia groups join forces, and President Christopher Tate knows that Colonel Harrison is the only man who can stop a planned covert nuclear attack. Will Fisher help the government who forsake him? And if he does, will he make it out alive?

Patriot Acts by Steven Clark Bradley is an intense, fast-paced modern day thriller that leaves you clinging to the edge of your seat. Bradley's wealth of experience comes alive in this story of a covert nuclear attack planned by two deadly forces. Having traveled to thirty-four countries and having been a freelance journalist in Iraq, Israel and Turkey, Bradley creates a realistic and scary portrait of potential terrorism issues home and abroad.

Strong and complex characters fill this novel. From Fisher Harrison to Christopher Tate, from radical militia leader Len Garret to Jamie O'Rourke, the President's Chief of Staff, every player is alternately sympathetic and despicable, likable and easily hated. Bradley has done an excellent job of creating multi-faceted characters whose actions move this story along at a fast clip.

That said, the overuse of the exclamation point in the dialogue rendered its effect useless, and a good editor may have helped making some of the transitions easier. Since this book travels back and forth in time, the choppy transitions occasionally left this reader with a moment of confusion until she figured out the character was recalling past events.

Patriot Acts by Steven Clark Bradley will be a hit with military fiction fans, lovers of fast-paced thrillers, and anyone interested in the War on Terror. This is definitely a book worth checking out.


Title: Patriot Acts
Author: Steven Clark Bradley
Publisher: Cambridge Books
ISBN-10: 1-59431-693-7
ISBN-13: 978-1-59431-693-7
SRP: $17.95 (U.S.)