Flight + Skyfall + Argo

The last three Saturday evenings I have taken in a big Hollywood movie via Amazon Instant Video. I find that it is a good way to end the week. The three movies the last three Saturday nights are:

1. Flight, directed by Robert Zemeckis, starring Denzel Washington
2. Skyfall, directed by Sam Mendes, starring Daniel Craig
3. Argo, directed by and starring Ben Affleck

All three came in at over two hours. Skyfall was so long I had to watch it in two sittings. And during Flight I found myself looking at my watch. The best of these three is definitely Argo, a tribute to CIA honor and integrity that goes a little way towards acknowledging American rot and hubris. It would have been nice to have a nuanced portrayal of an Iranian Islamic revolutionary, but no such luck. All in all though a fine Hollywood film that allows Jimmy Carter to take a little voice-over bow as the credits roll.

I had seen favorable reviews of Skyfall saying that Sam Mendes was taking the Bond franchise to a higher, more emotionally-complicated level. Don't believe it. Daniel Craig is just as flat as he ever is. Javier Bardem is interesting to look at but his villainous character is a joke, straight out of the funny papers. This movie is the worst of the three.

Flight has some good scenes, such as the coked-out, hungover "morning after" opening in the airport hotel. And Denzel, who I always appreciate, is good. But the movie could have done without the whole "whore with the heart of gold" subplot; it would have been more effective had it stayed in Bad Lieutenant mode throughout.

Watching a webcast of the Sweet Spot this past Friday I learned the favorite to win the Oscar for Best Picture is Argo, though A.O. Scott thinks both Amour and Zero Dark Thirty are better choices.