Argo REVIEWS
Reviewed by Tim Grierson
Skilfully made, grown-up entertainment, Argo combines an incredible true story with crafty thriller conventions to produce a crowd-pleasing drama that should go down easy with Oscar voters. Argo represents another step forward for director Ben Affleck and, while they do not entirely make up for the film’s flaws, its polished setpieces and confident execution are almost as convincing as the unlikely scams the heroes pull off. This Warner Bros offering is based on the 1979
takeover of the US embassy in Iran by militants, which forced six staff members to seek refuge in the Canadian embassy. With the Iranian Revolution raging and the US
staff in danger, CIA operative Tony Mendez (Affleck) hatches a desperate plan: work with a Hollywood producer (Arkin) and Oscar-winning make-up artist (Goodman) to concoct a fake sci-fi movie and convince the Iranian authorities that the Americans are actually part of a Canadian film crew in Iran to scout locations. As preposterous as that plan sounds, Argo
documents real events (it takes its title from the sci- fi film though, amusingly, no-one seems to know what it means). Affleck finds room to acknowledge how ludicrous the operation really was. As a result, Argo is something of a comedic heist film, with the first half focused on Mendez’s journey to Los Ange- les to get together a creative team for the phoney film and the second half devoted to his trip to Tehran to bring the Americans home.
Hotel Transylvania Reviewed by Brent Simon
High-value animation gets wrapped around a slap- dash story more suited to a Saturday morning car- toon in Hotel Transylvania, an animated film that tries rather unsuccessfully to meld empty-nest anxiety with a curious half-sketched tale about a getaway resort for monsters. Broad, lazy storytell- ing sinks producer-star Adam Sandler’s vehicle, which lacks the snap and distinctiveness of some- thing like the recent ParaNorman. While the slightly broader conceit of this story
suggests a decent opening weekend, Hotel Transyl- vania isn’t exactly a Halloween movie, and it is likely to receive critical pans and indifferent word- of-mouth that will limit its theatrical earning power before it settles into rotation in cable televi- sion and other ancillary markets. When, on her 118th birthday, vampire Mavis
(Gomez) seems ready to finally go out and experi- ence the world, her worried and overprotective sin- gle father, Count Dracula (Sandler), constructs an elaborate ruse about the scariness of humans to keep her from leaving. They live in a lavish hotel of Dracula’s design,
where an assortment of monsters — the Invisible Man, the Mummy, the Werewolf, Frankenstein and his Bride — have gathered to celebrate Mavis’ birthday. However, a goofy human backpacker, Jonathan (Samberg), stumbles across Dracula’s lair. Panicked, the Count attempts to conceal his
n 8 Screen International at Toronto September 8, 2012 Initially, there is a good deal of humour at the GALAS
US. 2012. 120mins Director Ben Affleck Production companies GK Films, Smokehouse Pictures, Warner Bros Producers Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck, George Clooney Executive producers David Klawans, Nina Wolarsky, Chris Brigham, Chay Carter, Graham King, Tim Headington Screenplay Chris Terrio, based on The Master Of Disguise by Antonio J Mendez and a Wired article by Joshuah Bearman Cinematography Rodrigo Prieto Editor William Goldenberg Music Alexandre Desplat Main cast Ben Affleck, John Goodman, Alan Arkin, Barry Livingston, Kyle Chandler, Tate Donovan, Rory Cochrane, Victor Garber, Scoot McNairy, Christopher Denham, Clea DuVall, Chris Messina, Bryan Cranston
expense of Hollywood’s mendacity and phoniness — some of which tends to be a little too backslap- ping and self-congratulatory — but soon the film becomes more anxious, and Affleck smoothly navi- gates the tonal shift from satiric to suspenseful. As he demonstrated with The Town, Affleck has a
knack for tight, gripping action sequences, and Argo boasts three. One is the opening siege of the US embassy, while two take place during Mendez’s time in Iran, including a harrowing escape attempt. Without relying on frenetic editing gimmicks or
overblown violence, Affleck adroitly executes each sequence, building tension with intelligence and
restraint. If there is a quibble with the film, it is that Argo’s clockwork-like efficiency sacrifices character depth. Affleck gives a soulful, understated performance
as Mendez, a man whose commitment to his coun- try has wrecked his family. But beyond the actor’s inherent sincerity, the character is mysterious in a way that suggests a lack of script development rather than an intriguing artistic choice. The same problem afflicts the imperilled Americans, despite the best efforts of Tate Donovan, Rory Cochrane and their castmates. Affleck has done a robust job making a movie about their rescue, but his film does not do much to really get to know them.
TIFFKIDS
US. 2012. 91mins Director Genndy Tartakovsky Production companies Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation US distribution Sony Pictures Producer Michelle Murdocca Screenplay Peter Baynham and Robert Smigel, based on a story by Todd Durham, Dan Hageman and Kevin Hageman Editor Catherine Apple Music Mark Mothersbaugh Visual-effects supervisor Daniel Kramer Main voicecast Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Kevin James, Fran Drescher, Steve Buscemi, Molly Shannon, David Spade, CeeLo Green, Brian George, Luenell, Jon Lovitz, Chris Parnell
identity and tries to douse any flickers of attraction between Mavis and the curious newcomer. Director Genndy Tartakovsky and editor Cather-
ine Apple drive the film on at a blistering pace but fail to give it a unifying vision. Visually, Hotel Tran- sylvania has some standout sequences, but the scenes that work best in 3D, including a flying din- ner table sequence, feel like awkward inclusions. The screenplay is credited to Peter Baynham and
frequent Sandler collaborator Robert Smigel, with a long list of additional material contributors in the end credits. This collaborative practice is common
in animated films, but this one feels especially beholden to the undisciplined rhythms of Sandler’s more banal comedies, where digressive joking is valued above character or narrative clarity. The casting of singers (Gomez, Green) lends
itself to a couple of half-hearted musical numbers. Samberg’s bouncy, easygoing patois recalls a cousin of Scooby-Doo’s Shaggy, but Sandler’s accent may remind some of the foul-mouthed goat sketch on his 1996 comedy album What The Hell Hap- pened To Me? — which may provide more diver- sionary amusement than there is on screen.
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