127 HOURS.

So... it finally came here. Now I'm reviewing it. Yup. For those of you who live under a rock (buh dum, psh), this is the true story of Aron Ralston (James Franco), an amateur adventurer who falls into a crevice and gets his hand caught between a rock and a hard place (What? It's the name of the memoir...). He's stuck for 5 days before he finally decides to... well, you know.

I am a fan of Danny Boyle. 28 Days Later... is one of my favorite (not-zombie) films. Sunshine and Slumdog Millionaire are both great, too. Boyle has a very stylish visual... style... and you can really see his vision at work yet again. The editing is sharp, and the angles he takes with the camera are really fascinating.

Of course, at the heart of the film is James Franco's performance. Sure, there are others in the movie, notably two other amateur adventurers played by Kate Mara and Amber Tamblyn. But Franco is the one that sells it. It's all resting in his hands... (OK, OK, I'll stop). His performance starts out relatively average, but by the end, you can really see how Aron is snapping from lack of food and water (not to mention his situation)... and I can definitely tell how, for the awards season, Franco made the cut (sorry).

If I saw anything negative about it, it was the fact that there were just some truly strange moments. Certain flashbacks and/or hallucinations are thrown in, and it makes moments feel either choppy or surreal--sometimes in a good way, sometimes not. But honestly, when has a Danny Boyle film ever not had something strange and experimental? Some people have complained that the film was too slow and boring. There were some moments soon after he first gets stuck, I suppose. But the pace picks up pretty fast, and you're just left wondering what's gonna happen (regardless of knowing how it ends). And yes, I almost got a little emotional at the end.

Overall, it was a fascinating movie. I don't have a terrible lot to say about it, though. The actual scene is pretty intense and visceral, and it doesn't shy away from showing you anything. Between breaking the bone or cutting the nerves and whatnot, it's gut-wrenching. Strangely, I didn't hear anyone hit the floor cold during this scene, but a woman did gag when he had to start drinking his own urine. So yeah, it's not one to miss. I think what got me at the end was that, truly, this actually happened. The gravity of the situation just hit me full force at the very end, and no "true story" movie has ever done that before. It's really good.


A Keanu 'Whoa'