IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT KIM GENTES MOVIE REVIEWS
The appearance of a movie in this review journal does not mean that the movie is endorsed by Kim. He writes reviews of movies that he saw that he recommends people avoid as well as movies that he considers worth seeing. Aside from just critical approval regarding the film, some movies may not be suitable for you or your family. You must make that kind of determination on your own, and stay true to your own convictions on what is appropriate to see. Some movies are well made, but have offensive or difficult subject matter that is questionable to many viewers. Again, the reviews listed here should not be your only filter for whether or not a film is appropriate for you and and your family.
Additionally, Kim has his own view on what movies are and why he thinks they are a worthwhile aspect of current culture to be investigated. You certainly don't have to agree with Kim on his viewpoints of movies, and he would be surprised if you did.
Kim's thoughts on movies -
Movies are the modern art "experience" of our culture. They are transmitted in many forms, on screens in theatres, DVDs, television and even computers. They are the merge of classical theatrical acting and modern day technical set and experience creation (effects). The reason I enjoy and watch lots of movies is that they not only entertain, they communicate the nuances of our society. Of course, some have nothing to do with culture, its just greedy corporations trying to produce profits. I am a guy, and as such am not the ideal audience for romantic comedies or 'chick fliks'. However I am also a husband, and domestic bliss (as well as common sense) compels me to at least review them...occasionally. For the most part, you will find I like (and therefor review a lot of ) action, drama, science fiction, suspense and similarly themed movies.
Entries in franco (1)
127 Hours (2010)
Monday, December 27, 2010 at 11:56PM 
A story about waiting to die. Audience participation required.
| Overall Grade: | A- |
| Story: | A |
| Acting: | A+ |
| Direction: | A |
| Visuals: | B- |
Summary: Imagine if you had the opportunity to know you were about to die. That in a few days your body would shut down and you writhe painfully from dehydration, exhaustion into complete physical collapse. This is the real life story of Aron Ralston. An Intel engineer who was a serious hiking enthusiast, took on one too many challenges.
I won't recite the entire storyline for you. If you haven't heard it, it is well worth either reading his real life story or watching this movie. Suffice it to say that Ralston has his life dangling in the balance while stuck in the crevas of a slot canyon in Utah, his arm wedged between the canyon and a rock.
The very best about this movie is the acting by James Franco. Edging out a character study for this protagonist gets center stage. The movie, quite frankly, is little else. And Franco is more than up to the task. He elevates the film to believability, pain and course reality. You feel the wind, the grit of sand, the losing of sanity, the struggle of dehydration pressing in on you as you watch the film.
Danny Boyle (director) achieves precisely his goal with the stark renderings and narrow effect given to the cinematography- to make you feel like each moment is grainy, slow and arduous. This is the point of the film making, that you will feel what the character feels. But this becomes the ironic anti-point to most viewers, since the very thing Boyle intends to make us feel, when it succeeds, is the exact opposite thing you need to keep people in the seats at a local theatre. Twenty-first century Americans can't be bothered with painful, frightening, gnawing, ugly reality. They can't handle story telling that is not 120 minutes of 7 second sound bites and 50 car explosions. So I don't expect 127 Hours will do well as a money making venture.
But if you would like to hear an amazing story, of a truly heroic individual, who grinds out life and death with the elements of a desert canyon, and you are willing to endure for 133 minutes what he endured for 127 hours, then you can learn the lessons he learned. And you won't be disappointed.
I also usually give warnings related to content for age. For parents out there, you should know that this film has a few instances of cursing, though, it is occasional. There are also sexual innuendoes, but again they are passing. However, in one scene, James Franco's character does pleasure himself, apparently as an attempt to alleviate pain. This may be offensive to some viewers. I would not bring my 13 year old to this movie, but I would bring my 16 and 19 year old boys. I have boys and do not have girls so I have no good grid for evaluating well age appropriateness for daughters. As you might imagine, there are some visceral, disgusting things that he does to his body to survive (including drinking urine, considering severing body parts, etc). Much the same way as "Saving Private Ryan" was a particularly shocking viewpoint of war, this movie is a microcosm of personal human struggle. It is realistic and yet painful and visceral.
The film has a man who goes from happy, to angry, to hopeful, to hopeless, to base human animal, back through to thankful, changed, human. When he reaches the base human animal, on a human level this reflects a journey where a person goes from seeming happiness into transformation, through a deeply terrible self-revelation, which forces him to leave behind part of his old life to move on to the new.
I am slightly less compelled to feel like Boyle worked as hard as Franco on the film. The one thing that seemed a bit too obvious was the moral lesson that he pounds out in the script. The epiphany moment (at the end of the movie) when the Ralston character yells the word "Help" is about the fourth or fifth time the moral lesson is hammered home for the viewers. That felt a little over done for the normally more clever style that Boyle employs in his films. But I certainly can grant this concession for an otherwise poignant and painful triumph to a powerful story.
Amazon DVD Link : http://amzn.to/pMEcog
Review by Kim Gentes.