After directing State of Play and The Town, Ben Affleck picked the Iran Hostage Crisis, and the true story of six Americans trapped in Iran by protesters and radicals, to base his third film, Argo, on. With seven nominations, including for Best Picture, Argo seems to be the heavy favorite going into tonight’s Oscars. The story is centered on Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck), a CIA exfiltration expert whose task is now to get the six hostages, held at the Canadian ambassador’s house in secrecy, out of Iran. His plan is incredibly ridiculous, though at the same time genius: disguise the hostages as a Canadian film crew scouting locations for a sci-fi epic, Argo. Mendez hires a Hollywood makeup artist (John Goodman) and a cranky producer (Alan Arkin, nominated for Best Supporting Actor) to craft the ruse. Once he gets to Iran, the tension begins, the suspense deepens, and now the task is to carry the hostages out of Iran in secrecy, without alerting any authorities of their, and his, real identities. Argo is filled with a number of great performances, specifically from Arkin, Affleck and Goodman. The suspense of the third act, and the overall skill put into the film make it an amazing film. Though some people still believe Lincoln will take the gold, this writer thinks Best Picture will go to Ben Affleck’s Argo.