"127 Hours"
Richard's Review: 4 stars
Wikipedia defines survival as "the struggle to remain alive and living." Next to that definition should be a picture of Aron Ralston, the poster boy for survival at any cost. His name may not ring a bell but his remarkable story of how he literally found himself between a rock and a hard place will make you wonder how far you would go to stay alive.
You see, Ralston is the American mountain climber who was trapped by a boulder for five days in May 2003 and was only able to free himself by amputating his own arm. His story is told in unflinching detail in 127 Hours, starring James Franco, a film so intense some audience members have suffered panic attacks and lightheadedness.
That reaction is the result of careful direction by Danny Boyle. Because we essentially know how the story is going to end Boyle keeps us along for the ride by building up tension slowly as he moves toward the movie's Big Scene. It's not always a pleasant experience, but it is rather masterful filmmaking. When he does get to the amputation scene (admit it, you're curious) he creates a movie topping sequence (it starts to get grim at about the hour-and-fifteen minute mark) with visuals that leave something to your imagination and a jarring electronic soundtrack that is less gruelling but more effective than any cutting scene from the "Saw" series. It may not show everything, but trust me, it'll be a long time before you order a rare steak or beef tartar in a restaurant again.
Boyle fleshes out the bare bones of the story, adding in heartbreaking hallucinations of survival and a montage of soda commercials that illustrates what happens when thirst goes beyond the physical to become a mental thing.
It's all tied together by Boyle's visual sense. He uses a variety of shooting styles to really give us the idea of why Aron loves this terrain and how dangerous and extreme it can be. It gives us a feeling for both the isolated vastness and beauty of Aron's surroundings.
At the heart of it all is James Franco as Aron. Like Ryan Reynolds in "Buried" this is a performance that isn't limited by its physical circumstances. Reynolds spent ninety minutes in a box and gave the performance of his career while Franco, trapped by a boulder, alone in a tight uncomfortable space does some seriously good work. His choices of roles have been esoteric of late -- playing Allen Ginsberg in "Howl" for instance -- but in "127 Hours" he has found the part that should earn him some well deserved recognition from the Academy.
"127 Hours" isn't an easy movie. When Aron tells himself "don't pass out" during the amputation scene he could well be talking to the audience as well. Imagine the most uncomfortable you've ever been. Now multiply that by a thousand. No wait, a million. That's the experience Boyle and Franco are offering up, a gruelling but worthwhile story of survival against all odds.
"Morning Glory"
Richard's Review: 3 stars
In "Morning Glory" Canadian sweetheart Rachel McAdams plays an eternally optimistic television producer. That's how we know this is a work of fantasy. Like unicorns or a good Matthew Lillard movie, there's no such thing as an eternally optimistic television producer. She may be completely fictitious but she's also perky, precocious and fighting for the survival of her morning television show.
After being fired from the producer's chair of "Good Morning New Jersey," Becky (McAdams) moves up to the big leagues, executive producing a network morning show in New York City. The trouble is the network is IBS -- it can't be a co-incidence that their name is an acronym for Irritable Bowel Syndrome because their ratings are in the toilet -- and the show is Daybreak, a telecast so lowly rated one observer says "half the audience has lost their remotes and the other half are waiting for their nurse to turn them over."
It's her job to whip the show into shape, despite the protests of its two high maintenance hosts, former Miss Arizona Colleen Peck (Diane Keaton) and the "third worst person in the world," Mike Pomeroy (Harrison Ford).
"Morning Glory" is a screwball romantic comedy that has a sit com-ish edge, but is rescued by the charm of its leads. It's a pleasure to see Harrison Ford grumping it up in his first all out comedic role in some time (that is, if you don't count the ill-advised Indiana Jones reboot) and Diane Keaton has some good bitchy fun here but it is McAdams who really saves the day.
Her effervescent screen presence keeps us interested even when the script is content to rely on predictable, feel-good story turns. "Morning Glory" often feels like a collection of good ideas that don't quite hang together. The Patrick Wilson love interest angle feels tagged on and near the end the movie becomes a series of montages as various story threads are a little too conveniently wrapped up, but through it all McAdams shines.
There are echoes of "Broadcast News" throughout. That movie played up the romance a bit more than "Morning Glory" does and 23 years ago when the Albert Brooks comedy first addressed the trend of the show business-ification of hard news to pander to ratings, the hard news side won. This time around Mike Pomeroy, a seasoned journalist with impeccable credentials, is told by the upstart Becky, "Your side lost" and is asked to bring along a camera to his prostate exam.
"Broadcast News" had interesting things to say about television and how TV is changing. "Morning Glory" doesn't have that same kind of insight but it does have Rachel McAdams, which for this lightweight comedy, is enough.
"Unstoppable"
Richard's Review: 3 stars
"Unstoppable," the new true-life drama from Denzel Washington and "Star Trek" star Chris Pine is a heavy metal movie. It's a story about 10,000,000 pounds of screeching, screaming metal careening out of control through the Pennsylvania countryside. No, it's not the Mötley Crüe northeastern reunion tour, it's about a runaway train and two brave men who bring the beast to a stop.
Story wise "Unstoppable" is pretty high concept. Due to human error (or perhaps just plain laziness) an unmanned half-a-mile long string of trains loaded with hazardous materials is let loose, barrelling along the main rail track toward Stanton, Pennsylvania. It is, essentially, a missile the size of the Chrysler Building. Along the way it plays chicken with a trainload of kids and Denzel. Can they stop it before it causes a huge environmental catastrophe? Only Denzel knows… and he's only half-way sure.
It doesn't take long to identify "Unstoppable" as a Tony Scott movie. There's his favorite star, Denzel, endlessly swirling cameras and about 75 edits per minute.
With the exception of Denzel, his trademarks have occasionally overwhelmed his movies. His high sense of style has frequently come before good old solid storytelling but with "Unstoppable" there isn't much story to overpower so his wild flourishes really carry the day. The giant set pieces involving the train and the various attempts to stop it are exciting, edge-of-your-seat sequences. Add in Denzel playing a riff on his now patented old pro on the job/hero role (the one he's been perfecting in movies like "Inside Man" and "The Taking of Pelham 1,2,3) and some good charismatic work from Chris Pine and you have a fun Saturday afternoon matinee movie.
