Quick Review: 127 Hours

It's pretty obvious that spoiler alerts aren't needed here: "127 Hours" is based on the true story of Aron Ralston, who was hiking in a remote canyon in Utah when a boulder fell and trapped his arm. Unable to dislodge the boulder, running out of food and water, with no search parties looking for him since he told no one where he was going before he left, he eventually did the only thing he could do in order to stay alive: he cut off his arm. When the movie was screened at film festivals earlier this year there were reports that some people got sick after seeing the amputation scene. I expected something a lot more graphic, but it's not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. James Franco, as Ralston, has to carry the movie as he's alone on screen for much of it. Other than in a few flashbacks (as he's looking back at his life and his choices while trapped) he's not interacting with anyone else. He's definitely up to the task. Some of the film work was a little distracting -- do we really need to see the point of view from the inside of a water bottle? -- but for the most part, even knowing the eventual outcome, the suspense still builds. My grade: B-plus.