Review of '127 Hours': The most fun you can have with your clothes on

127 Hours (2010)

Directed by Danny Boyle

Starring James Franco, Amber Tamblyn, Kate Mara

Intense, gripping and just downright exciting - 127 Hours is the latest big screen venture by Danny Boyle, our much-loved, award-winning and cherished British director. Based on Between a Rock and a Hard Place, the biographical writings of American, Aron Ralston, this movie attempts to capture the horror of Ralston's famous accident. A keen mountaineer and general adrenaline junkie, Aron (James Franco) heads off to the Bluejohn Canyon on a typical adventure weekend. After a sudden fall, his arm becomes lodged beneath a boulder and Ralston has to fight for escape. Over 5 days Aron has to resist 'losing it' - rapidly running out of food, water and motivation this man has to rely on his lust for life to survive the terrifying ordeal. Oh, and he cuts off his own arm.

The opening of this film is brilliant. A Free Blood track explodes onto the screen with the vivacity and energy of Ralston's own character. The screen buzzes with modern city scenes, inescapable busyness - all the better for highlighting Aron's solitude, my dear, and the vast, awesome expanse of uninhabited canyon land that our man will eventually find himself trapped in. Lovely set up. We're kept on edge waiting for the crucial boulder moment - he trips, he slips but it's a little while before the fatal moment comes.

Franco's performance is incredible. It's one thing to have to hold a film almost entirely on your own, it's another to do that whilst you're stuck in a canyon with only one arm free. Aron's video camera allows him to revisit the regrets of his past, leaving tributes to the friends and family that he becomes prepared to leave behind. Franco beautifully delivers the frustration and desperation of Ralston's character - even though he is trapped, he is electrifying to watch. Ralston himself said in an interview, 'we have these very fundamental desires for freedom, for love and for connection. And that's what got me out.' And it's those fundamental desires that are impeccably communicated by James Franco.

Of course, we have to mention the fantastic show that is Ralston amputating his own arm. The pain and the determination are accompanied by an incredible score by A. R. Rahman that make it unsettling but not gruesome to watch. While you might find the uncontrollable urge to look away, you probably won't. We're with Ralston to the end, that means seeing the whole thing through - even if it makes you feel a little queasy.

I love this movie and it's a shame that Franco and Boyle have to live in the spectacular shadow of The King's Speech. Don't get me wrong, I loved Tom Hooper's movie as much as the next man, and I certainly harbor a more than unhealthy love for Colin Firth. However, I find myself sitting in Camp Franco for the Lead Actor Oscar and hope the film scoops some recognition at the awards. If you haven't seen this film already and you're looking for a thrill (well, the closest you can come without endangering your own right arm) then make a date with 127 Hours.

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The Minister for general mayhem

Classic Film Review: Michael Collins (1996)

Directed by Neil Jordan

Michael Collins the man was one of the most iconic heroes in Ireland’s troubled history. Developing extremely successful guerrilla tactics, instilling fear in the British as the man responsible for ‘gun-running, daylight robbery and general mayhem’, his campaign eventually led to the negotiation of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1921. However, as the man who signed the Treaty, which allowed the partition of Ireland, Collins was regarded as a traitor by those that opposed the agreement. Eventually, this led to Michael Collins’ assassination.

Neil Jordan’s film tells the incredible story of Collins and the IRA from the Easter Rising in 1916 through to the statesman’s death. Oscar and BAFTA nominated, Michael Collins is a beautiful and dramatic piece of cinema and you don’t need knowledge of Irish history to enjoy it. However, upon release the film was subjected to wide criticism. Historians claimed the film was inaccurate, whilst British critics condemned the violent depiction of British auxiliary soldiers occupying Ireland. Nevertheless, the film was a huge success in Ireland and became quite a public affair as calls for extras were met with thousands of Irish people eager to re-enact their past.

The cast of the movie is undoubtedly star-studded. Liam Neeson produces an electrifying performance in the title role, which earned him the Venice Film Festival Best Actor Award. Unusually, Jordan didn’t exclusively use Irish actors for the starring roles, with Aidan Quinn and Julia Roberts swapping their American accents for surprisingly convincing Irish ones. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for Alan Rickman. Whilst his performance is fantastic as the almost anti-heroic Sinn Fein leader, Eamon de Valera, his accent leaves a little to be desired. Julia Roberts could also be considered an odd choice for this movie as amidst the rough Irish backdrop she oozes Hollywood glamour. Nevertheless, you can’t deny that she provides a great onscreen character as Kitty Kiernan.

Michael Collins is dark, perfectly capturing the gloomy, perilous and troubled times of early twentieth century Ireland. Borrowing elements of the gangster genre, the movie shows uncompromising, raw violence mingled with political struggle. From the assassination of Irish officials to jailbreaks and the murder of innocent civilians, the lifetime of Collins was filled with death and destruction. However, the violence condoned by Collins is all in pursuit of peace and the establishment of a new, free Ireland.

Regardless of historical inaccuracies, Jordan’s film provides an insight into the man behind the Irish Free State, the IRA and the shaping of some of Ireland’s most significant historical moments. Dramatic, passionate and dangerous, Michael Collins is a movie to remember.

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