Argo

Mr. Y and I have wanted to see Argo ever since we first heard about it.  It's the movie about a CIA operative, Tony Mendez, who had to get six Americans out of Iran during the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis.  The six Americans were hiding out in the home of the Canadian ambassador, but risked discovery at any moment.  The cover story Mendez concocted was that the six Americans were part of a film crew scouting locations for a fake science-fiction movie called Argo.  He set up a fake movie production company with a real Hollywood producer and a real Hollywood makeup artist who had helped him in the past.

The movie was based on a Wired story "How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans From Tehran", which is a fascinating read.  It has all the elements of a ready-made Hollywood movie - suspense, thriller, comedy, drama.  No wonder producers George Clooney and Grant Heslov snapped it up.  Ben Affleck directed the movie, and he also starred in it as Tony Mendez.  The cast included Alan Arkin as Hollywood producer Lester Siegel, John Goodman as Hollywood makeup artist John Chambers, Victor Garber as Canadian ambassador Ken Taylor, and Bryan Cranston as Mendez's CIA supervisor Jack O'Donnell.