127 Hours

James Franco joins a rank of actors whose smile is so beatific and divine, that it positively bathes you in melted butter. James go and stand next to Matt Damon, Ewan McGregor, and the delicious James McAvoy. Now all say 'cheese'. Gorgeous. Ok, on with the review. This is the true story of Aron Ralston. Aron is an adrenaline junkie, and a loner, who spends his weekends in the canyons of Colorado squeezing himself through tight spots. My claustraphobic idea of hell. His love of this beautiful barren land is evident. On this adventure, he meets two girls, Megan (Amber Tamblyn) and Kristi (Kate Mara). They spend part of the day together, he shows them a slighty different view of the beautiful clear pool, and how to get there. Looks great fun. Aron then proceeds with his focused journey, through the terrain he knows and loves so well. It's at this point, that you are just waiting for 'it' to happen. By 'it' of course, I mean *spoiler alert* the awful bit where the rock pins his right arm against the crevice. The look of disbelief on James Franco's face when this happens is quite startling. Now you would think that this story would be a little difficult and tedious when transferred onto the screen. Not at all. Danny Boyle has directed this film with sensitivity and humour and manages to keep you completely captivated. Of course, this is also due to the magnificent acting of James Franco. He brings a real warmth and likeability to a quite self centred character. It is agonizing to watch Aron going through the gamut of emotions, all recorded for posterity on his movie camera, as he realises that his options and choice of beverages are fast slipping away. There are also some extremely emotional moments as he hallucinates his way through past love and what might have beens. The scene where he finally releases himself from his rocky grave is nothing short of horrific (and I'm a nurse). The bravery, courage and resourcefulness needed to endure this type of incident are miraculous. The final few minutes of the film are really emotional and poignant. It's really nice to know what happens to characters. People raved about 'Slumdog Millionaire', I was one of a handful that couldn't see what the fuss was about. This one I can. The soundtrack is also really well chosen, listen out for 'Lovely Day', poetry in motion. 127 HOURS: I wouldn't have lasted 127 minutes. 8.5/10