127 Hours

[Cortone]

I also went on the Sunday Times voucher. As ever, James Franco is outstanding - the film would not have worked without him. What an a*rse he (the character he played) was, but the downside of this is that us girlies (especially those whose parked cars were hit by male drivers this week), would have thought this through. I kept thinking of how dumb the guy was.

I looked at my watch several times from 30 minutes in, but overall, it was a 7/10 or so. But it is not a fun film to relax to. Not what I call entertainment - so fine for free, but... I am glad I saw it.

And the 'key' scenes were not that horrific. It depends on what your horrors are. And... maybe the reality is that this (his arm) was already a lost cause. The Thackray Medical Museum in Leeds shows films of real (medical) amputations, and this film is nothing in comparison to these. But he still survived...

[elski]

I also would have liked to have seen more of Aron Ralston's experiences before this happened. I read the book and interspersed between the 127 hr experience are flashbacks to his life leading up to it and the kind of danger he got himself into before. Caught in an avalanche, his attempts to climb all the highest peaks in the US, almost drowning in rapids and being stalked by a grizzly bear. The idea that something was bound to happened at some point to him because of the amount of danger he put himself in comes across quite strongly in the book but is only hinted at in the film. I would have been happy with less of the flashbacks to his relationship with a woman (played by Clemence Poesy) and more of that. As a result the film is a surprisingly brief 94mins long. It's a rare film that could have benefitted from being a little longer to have a bit more depth. Great to see Treat Williams briefly as Aron's dad though (Cloverfield's Lizzy Caplan also appears as his sister).

It's such a shame they didn't include any of that. I was disappointed with this film, I really love Touching the Void so couldn't help comparing and this seems to lack any depth or information about Aron's character or his relationships. It was all really sketchy so I found it difficult to warm to him or root for him as I already knew what he was going to have to do to escape.
The gruesome scene wasn't too bad I hid my face a few times and just kept thinking of it as strawberry jam around his mouth (and that I'd survived Antichrist, scenes which are etched on my brain!)
I just came away feeling a bit flat. Maybe Aron is just a dull bloke who had something extraordinary happened to him.


7.5/10

[elski]

oh btw can anyone explain why he ate his contact lenses?

Well years ago part of the contact lens cleaning routine was to put them in with a protein remover tablet as proteins build up on them the longer they are in the eye, and they are about 60-80% water so I guess they're a source of water & tiny bit of protein, not a great deal in them though!

[Celini]

for me the blood was ok, it was more about the atrocious pain the guy felt [spoiler]when he touched and had to cut the nerve![/spoiler]

very realistic!

[prettyxcool]

After debating whether to get the Sunday Times today instead of our occasional Sunday paper, as there were not much I have not seen at the two Cineworlds near me, I decided to take the plunge and watch 127 Hours at the early evening screening. A lot of vouchers were being exchanged too by the looks of it and the cinema was packed at the Haymarket. I even got my free popcorn!

Did not think I would enjoy it as I am not into extreme sports as when I saw the trailer, I thought this was what it was all about. And there was something familiar about Aron, and only realised that it was James Franco when I saw the credits! Haha! Well I had only seen him in one film and that was a very, very long time ago. But what great acting, as I thought he carried the whole film, as a very arrogant and reckless mountain climber at first and then through a lot of close ups showing his pain, frustration, fear and desperation as his life flashes by as he faces life or death, and had to make a decision whether to die or survive. I had to cover my eyes at the gruesome bits though! But there was more than enough beautiful scenery to make up for it. 7/10.

[soonforgotten]

This was film 2 yesterday, following Tangled and what a contrast. This was not much fun to watch but I thought it was very well made. "The scene" was a unsettling but wasn't as horrible as I had feared (I don't do realistic gore well). I'll agree with others who've said there's not enough backstory to Aron to really pull for him, but part of that is also due to knowing how it turns out anyway. It was hard not to compare this to Buried, which I felt was the better film. Franco was good and entertaining but, despite this being a one man show, I don't think it was anywhere near Oscar worthy. 8/10 from me.

[Diane65]

Spanner.. Are you really complaining about having to watch James Franco for a couple of hours? You were watching James Franco and you were worried about contact lenses????

I adore him, and if it is two hours of looking at him, then I will force myself to do this . He was the only thing that made Milk worth watching. (how much did Sean Penn p*y to get that Oscar??? Yukkk!!!!!)

The weekend newspapers said he is finishing a PhD in English - forget where - and disassociates himself from his on screen personality. So, I will just have to look at his face.. and forget his on screen persona...

If I were a cat I would lick him and knead him (paw padding) . Purr, purr....

That brought back memories of doing human dissection as a student and my cat used to behave like that when she smelt me when I got home (sorry I know its gross)! I can't decide whether to watch it or not.

[Preston1990]

I liked this. It's another human triumph over advesity film. I liked the flashback sequences to Aron's life, although on some levels for me his "premonition" felt a little weird. Nevertheless, I was willing him to do the deed and was inwardly cheering for the guy when he succeeded.

I didn't think it was overly gory, but I did shy away a little at the same bits as Celini described.

An enjoyable 8 out of 10 from me.

[Preston1990]

Here is a link to an interview with Aron Ralston, who is the real life person 127 Hours is based on.

Warning - It does contain a major Spoiler - so if you don't want to know too much before seeing the film, don't click on it!

[jaybee]

I wasn't there myself but a couple of people fainted during a screening at my local Picturehouse (Cinema City, Norwich) on Saturday night. The story has made it into a few of the national newspapers but here's a link to it in our local paper the EDP

http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/norwich_cin ... m_1_771606