Movie of the Year (So Far)

John Goodman (L), Alan Arkin and Ben Affleck in Argo

For me, the movie of the year (so far) is Argo, which is like a cross between a satire (Wag the Dog, say) and a thriller (like the old Mission: Impossible TV show, not so much the film series). The hero of the mostly true story is a secret agent-type (Ben Affleck) who attempts to extract six Americans hiding in Iran by pretending they are filmmakers. But the real hero is Hollywood itself. That's because two old Hollywood hands, played by the great Alan Arkin and John Goodman, make the escape possible by concocting the phony movie that those pretend filmmakers are supposedly making. The whole film is a tribute to Hollywood because it says that movie people are totally willing and able to come to the rescue of their country BECAUSE they are incorrigible dreamers and effective liars. In a weird and unexpected way, the film is actually TOUCHING. How will academy voters be able to resist giving Argo their best-picture Oscar?

Oscar Night

For years, if not decades, movie critics (me included) have been complaining about the Oscars, saying they're irrelevant. So now that the public is starting to ignore the awards, some of the critics seem to be panicking. I've been reading laments about the general falloff in public interest in the Big Night, as well as suggestions by some critics about how to goose up the Oscars and make them more popular. Maybe the Academy Awards are like Miss America, a relic of an era that has ended or is ending. Maybe it's time to hang up the sash -- or at least move it to cable.

Oscar Buzz 1

Will Glenn Close win the best-actress Oscar for her haunting portrayal of Conan O'Brien in Albert Nobbs?