Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Directed by Oscar Winner Danny Boyle, this film is the incredibly true-to-life story
of Aron Ralston, a 20-something hiker who literally finds himself between a rock and
a hard place when he traps his right arm under a boulder following an accident in the Moab
region of Utah. Much has already been seen about Ralston's incredible story - a man forced
to amputate his own arm using a multi-tool to save his own life... but with Boyle's original
take on the adventure, and James Franco's incredible acting in the lead-role, "127 Hours"
comes alive in ways I didn't think were possible. In a film where everywhere already knows the
entire plot, and ending, and one that spends 80% of it's time focusing on a single character,
in an insolated environment, there is excitement and suspense in every scene. This movie is
a remarkable journey through Ralston's mind, at the edge of his own life, and although
it's easy to blame him for getting himself into this tough spot, it becomes very hard
not to tear-up in the final scenes where he finally finds rescue. The climatic amputation
scene is done rather tastefully, encompassing the right amount of realism and blood to make
it believable, and dramatic, but not enough to make it gross, or uncomfortable. Following
in the footsteps of Tom Hank's performance and nomination in 2000's "Cast Away", Franco
absolutely becomes his character here, and, no-pun-intended, single-handedly carries this
movie - taking it from what might have been a badly dramatized documentary, to a fully-fleshed
out Best Picture nominee. "127 Hours", "An epic struggle of determination". Now let's
take a look at your reviews from the YouTube comments.
No time to waste in today's extended edition of Movie Night - so get right to our ratings
for "127 Hours"... A NINE and a NINE. No question, we both agreed, this was a powerful, and exciting
film, and one that Franco absolutely deserved to get his Best Actor nomination for.