Even though it's not accurate....

Rating: 9/10 (5 November 2012)

Affleck should win Best Director. I couldn't catch any flaws in the film making and there was a great deal of detail in the cinematography.
I might even nominate him for Best Actor. Would he win? No. But it was a nice, understated performance.
The manufactured parts of the story were obvious, though, even before I went home and checked the accuracy of the story. The previews give away the ending (which never happened). Apparently the trip through the airport was uneventful in real life. And the bus driver grinding the gears to ratchet up the tension? Come on! When Carter cancels the operation, I knew that didn't happen. It was dramatically valid and worked well, though.
Even though Affleck, like me, is a big ol' liberal, I've just about had enough of cliché portrayals of Middle Eastern people. The only redeeming Middle East character was the housekeeper. Enough already.
Thus, for me the Best Picture contenders are Argo, The Master, Damsels in Distress, and Moonrise Kingdom. A weak list this year. Moonrise Kingdom was the most enjoyable of all but had problems. Argo had no problems but wasn't quite there as an overwhelming experience. The Master was technically good but redundant. And Damsels in Distress was almost as good as Moonrise Kingdom.