127 Hours or What happens when you don't tell your parents where you're going

127 Hours (R) ★★★½

I'm not one that has completely warmed up to Danny Boyle's stylistic flourishes over the years, however I don't deny the guy has talent. I dug Slumdog Millionaire for what it was, a preposterous but exciting movie-going exercise and I still think Trainspotting is his best film. 127 Hours, his latest exercise in stylistic overkill is a rather Jekkyl and Hyde type of film, it represents the best and worst of Boyle's mannerisms. However, here the good outweighs the bad. If you haven't read the news of late, it's based on Aron Ralston, a man that so it happens went hiking one day and ended up in a freakish fall that got his hand stuck underneath an immovable rock, even worse nobody knew he went out to hike, given his loner personality, thus he was left to fend off alone and find a way to get out of his rather astonishing situation. Supposedly, the only way to get out of there was by amputating his own arm, which is part of what makes this astonishing true story even more remarkable and -wait for it- touching.

I won't go into further detail, not that I need to considering the film is basically Ralston -impeccably played by James Franco- stuck in a cave, screaming for help and finding ways to survive. Because this is a Danny Boyle film , he brings overkill to what is in essence a story that should be simply told, considering the thinness of its dramatic surprises and momentum. Boyle gives us flashbacks to Ralston's youth and adolescence but he also showcases the hallucinations that end up happening in our main protagonists' head during his surreal, grueling experience. All of this leads to the amputation scene which is, needless to say, harrowing to watch and accentuated by a soundtrack filled with needled, spiky and uncomfortable sounds. The deliverance in the film's final moments is touching and uplifting, which gives this film a kind of crowd pleasing vibe to it, even after the graphic details of the amputation have already passed.

The film starts to run its course a bit in its mid section, by resorting to Raston's flashbacks and visionary hallucinations but when the amputation scene hits, you won't even know what hit you. It's tough to watch but also represents one of the most memorable scenes of any movie I have seen in 2010 ditto Franco's acting, he pulls a Tom Hanks here and is alone for close to 80% of the film, which is all the more remarkable considering he is stuck in the same setting and in the same standing position throughout the film. When he craves that last drop of water, we crave that last drop of water, when he stabs his arm, we feel it too. It's not an easy watch and although flawed in its stylistic excess, at times it had me hooked in its hero and the perpetually harrowing experience he must have had. But I found the writing lacking. There's really very little to the movie other than Franco's face and survival efforts. Very little depth/revelation. It is a stunt and one that Boyle admirably decides to overcome, giving his viewer every possible trick in the book. Don't get me wrong, 127 Hours is a good enough movie but there's only so much you can do with a one man story such as this one.

Danny Boyle In Images

With the release of Danny Boyle's latest film -127 Hours- just a mere months away, here's a career retrospective via images and films that have defined his career. Boyle is no doubt a visual stylist & at his best -Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, Slumdog Millionaire- has a way to move us with the images he creates. At his worst -A Life Less Ordinary, The Beach- he still dares us to leap into his imaginative worlds where nothing is safe and everything appears to be deceiving. Is he overpraised? I say he's not. He just makes the best out of -very often- poorly written screenplays that should never take off but do because of his talent. Then again he -semi- fucked up The Beach, which was a great book but an underwhelming movie. Looking back at all these pictures again, I'm reminded of how much of a love/hate relationship I have with the guy. Boyle doesn't always tend to underline his films with much substance and instead resorts to building up visually amazing images that kind of try to hide the weakness of a plot or a screenplay. That happened with Slumdog Millionaire -and he succeeded quite well might I add.



This is slight Boyle and not at all mandatory viewing. As it is with all of his film Millions is visually stunning but has a kiddie storyline that never really takes off. Altough its leading boy is just a real charmer and I guess I kind of see what he was trying to do with this one. A failure in my books but not without its core group of fans.



Some would say A Life Less Ordinary is his worst film. I'm inclined to agree and disagree, considering there were a few things I liked about that said picture and that it was not as dreadful or bland as something like say Sunshine? which -don't get me wrong- has its fans but did not have me at hello. + this one has Cameron Diaz when she was actually still curvy and hot.


As close to a great zombie movie as we have had in the past 2 decades. 28 Days Later felt almost like a rebirth for Boyle after striking out with his last two efforts (A Life Less Ordinary & The Beach). It put Cillian murphy on the map and gave a kind of new twist to the Zombie genre- Boyle made zombies quicker and more alive than ever. My only complaint? a piss poor ending that gave in to Hollywood conventions and resorted to violence and bombs. Followed by a mediocre sequel, not directed by Boyle.



His best movie, bar none. Trainspotting is a relentless and unafraid assault in its frank depiction of low rent junkies. Yet I'm afraid that a film this rebellious and this gritty is never going to appear again in Boyle's CV. Then again I shouldn't complain, few filmmakers can actually claim to have a movie this good in their filmography. I just wish Boyle would resort to getting a great screenplay like this one and hit it out of the park like only he can. These days he's given in to the studios and produced some solid effort but there's nothing better than going low budget and using much more creative freedom.



Now if only he didn't fuck up the film above. Maybe he'd be getting some extra points & a bit of a better reputation. Then again, everybody has their own dud. Scorsese's New York, New York?



First things first. I was breathlessly entertained by Slumdog Millionaire, so much so that it ended up on my ten best list in 2008 (#5). However, one that loves this movie must also confess to giving in to its multiple plot holes and -at times- unrealistically Hollywood approach, which all culminates with a kind of fairy tale Bollywood style finale with vibrant song and dance. I dug it, but this isn't necessarily a film you should take too seriously.



You can check out the trailer for 127 Hours right HERE. It's a real doozy, even though they kind of push the whole Slumdog Millionaire image for quite a bit of time at its beginning, which is understandable considering there arent necesarilly any big names to market this film around and -NO- James Franco is not considered a big name, well maybe to the gay community.