127 hours

The story of Aron Ralston, who goes hiking in a remote canyon, gets his arm trapped under a rock for five days, cuts it off (the arm not the rock) and walks out is an amazing one - I'm just convinced it makes for a great film (see what I did there). To be sure director Danny Boyle and star James Franco do their best to make it one, working overtime with stylistic flashes and strong acting to try and keep you involved for the entire duration while in reality you're just waiting for Ralston to cut his arm off already. In particular there are several times during the middle section (when he's trapped) where the film feels draggy and no amount of hyperactive directorial flashes can make it intensely compelling. Thats not to say the film is worthless by any means. The beginning and ending sequences have a real energy, and the money shot is just as cringe inducing and intense as you'd expect it to be. If anything I wish the film had spent less time in the canyon, and more time on the fact that he still had to climb out and walk back to civilization after self amputating his arm and not having any food or water for several days. I get that it wants us to feel the desolation of being trapped for five days, and that approach may have been unavoidable. Its just, for me, the much more interesting story begins when he decides to cut the appendage off and everything before that feels a little bit too much like 'Hey look at us we can make you watch a film about a guy being trapped under a walk for five days.' Like I said its not bad, but its not quite successful at what it sets out to do. Definitely check it out, but just keep your expectations in check. And if for some reason this wins best picture instead of Inception, The Social Network, or the Black Swan...well I probably won't do anything.