Just loving the Oscar movie season. I actually watched this one on the plane so didn't get the full theatre experience which probably didn't help. Having heard a bit about the story ahead of time the movie unfortunately was not as nerve wracking as if I didn't know the outcome... so if you don't know what it is about and don't want me to spoil it for you ... stop reading now, until you've seen it! !
This is one of the 10 movies this year nominated for best picture and I could go on a totally different tangent about that whole decision. Suffice to say I think there way too many in the category now.
It is pretty cool though that James Franco is hosting the Oscars and is the lead in this indie style movie AND is up for a best actor for his role in 127 Hours. Apparently it was done by the creators of Slumdog Millionaire and definitely has that cinematic feel - of "live" action not studio style at all. I'm not sure how many people went out to see this flick, I don't get the sense that it did very well @ the box office.
The movie is set in the desert, on a bright sunny spring day - and despite it being one of the most unforgiving climates of them all, the scenery was beautiful. Good thing that it is based on a true story about a mountain climber as it made it much more interesting, considering the fact that he had made a few crucial mistakes early on in the story that seemed almost unbelievable, except that it was true! The director and actors did manage to rivet the audience with barely any human interaction - and alot of hallucinations. Pretty scary stuff I must say. Iit certainly helped me appreciate that accidents can happen at any time. I do have one beef - they could have changed the title of the movie - since it doesn't take rocket science to realize that that must be how long he is out there on his own and exposed for - it made me sort of lose more anticipation as I knew on say day 2 and 3 that he wasn't done yet! Bottom line, James Franco does a brilliant job of his role. He basically carried every minute of the movie so all the more kudos to him. Wouldn't highly recommend the movie, it was just alright to me.
- IMDB link: 127 Hours
- Rating: ***½
