127 Hours

Released: 2010
Biography, Drama
Director: Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, 28 Days Later...)
Starring: James Franco, Amber Tamblyn, Kate Mara
Rated: R
Running Time: 94 minutes

The breakdown:
This is the true story of Aron Ralston terrifying adventure of getting trapped in a remote Utah canyon alone for 5 days with his arm pinned under an immovable boulder.  It's based on his book Between a Rock and a Hard Place.


First of all, let me say, I don't like James Franco.  I wish I could go back in time and take him out of all the movies I've ever seen him in like this one and Spiderman.
Second of all, let me say, I respect what Aron went through.  It had to be scary, incredibly difficult, life-changing, and depressing all at the same time for him alone in that canyon.
His story would have made a great I Survived episode on tv or a show like I Shouldn't Be Alive...It could've been absolutely phenomenal, but this movie sucked.

James Franco isn't a good actor.  He didn't pull off this character and his bad acting got in the way of an incredible story.  The movie was shot great.....if you suffer from ADHD or ADD, otherwise, it's annoying.  The screen gets split into 3 different shots often and you're trying to pay attention to all of them and lose the information from all of them.  When I'm watching a movie I want to devote all of my attention to it, not multitask and it shouldn't feel like work.  It should be entertaining.  You should get something out of it.

I love survival stories.  I watch shows like that all the time.  I knew of this story back in 2003 when it happened and was all over the news.  I felt bad for the guy.  I can't imagine what he went through or how it felt.

His story is fascinating, but the movie fails to deliver.  Instead you get annoying characters, people you don't ever care about, awkward acting, and too many gimmicks.

Overall it. just. doesn't. work.

But, I will give you the main plot points.
This guy Aron goes out looking for adventure all the time alone without telling anyone where he's going.  This weekend, he's going to Utah to explore some canyons and look around.  He meets a couple girls and shows them around a bit.  They go for a swim in some natural pool deep in the earth, they have fun and part ways. 
He's out on his own and is navigating a large crack in the earth when the boulder he's put all his weight on gives way and he falls far down into the slot and the boulder pins his arm against the canyon wall.  He tries for days to free himself in all sorts of ways.  He had little water and food on him and was not prepared for the cool nights wearing a t-shirt and shorts.  He has a video camera with him and records messages every so often for his family.
After 5 days, he knows no one will find him alive so he does something I'm not sure I could ever do.  He breaks his own arm bones, because they did not break in the fall, cuts off his arm with a small Swiss Army knife, makes a tourniquet, and gets out of the canyon he's in.  He finds help somewhere along the canyon trail and is airlifted to a hospital.
See, the story sounds unbelievable and could've been a great movie, if in the hands of maybe a different director, and with a better lead actor.

I give it a 1 1/2 out of 5 because I kept checking my watch to see when it would be over.  So disappointing.  Don't waste your money.