127 Hours (2010)
Directed by: Danny Boyle
Starring: James Franco and James Franco
Can I start this review with an apology to Danny Boyle? After some hating on Slumdog Millionaire after it won Best Picture two years ago, I kind of jumped on the bandwagon. While I thought Benjamin Button should have won over Slumdog, it was still a great movie, and I'm sorry for bashing Danny Boyle.
Now that that's out of the way, let's talk about the movie! Prepare yourself to be immersed in James Franco-y goodness. Like many moviegoers I knew the story of Aron Ralston before viewing the movie, but I don't feel like this detracted from my enjoyment. On the contrary, knowing what is supposed to happen, just increased the tension, (which is not a bad thing).
For the brief scenes in which James Franco interacts with other actors, you learn a few things about Aron. He's bold, adventurous, and seemingly knowledgeable about the outdoors. It's not until he becomes trapped that we actually get a sense of who this character is. He can finally recognize his faults and mistakes when he's all alone. This was one the most powerful part of the movie for me, as Franco was just so believable.
Favourite Scene:
How can it not be the arm scene? It exceeded my expectations by a landslide. I scoffed at the warnings of the scene not being for the faint of heart, but seriously: If you don't like blood... You've been warned.
One of the underdogs in the Oscar race, but definitely shouldn't be. James Franco for one wowed me beyond what I could have expected from him. In my books he's right up there with Colin Firth.
9/10 Scoops
