“Don’t Try This on Your Own”

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127 HOURS received a number of Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, Best Original Song, and Best Actor for its star, James Franco.

Franco, of course, plays Aron Ralston, the hiker who in 2003 was hiking by himself in a remote area in Utah when his right arm got pinned underneath a boulder, which he wrote about in his book, BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE.

The most interesting part of the story, of course, is that after failing for days to be able to dislodge the boulder, Ralston amputated his arm with a small knife in order to save himself from dying.

So, if you already know the whole story, you might think, why bother seeing this movie?

127 Hours MovieWell, because of all those Academy Award nominations, of course, and the way that the story is told on screen by director Danny Boyle.

The story begins on a Saturday with Ralston arriving in the area where he is going to start hiking.

He encounters two young women who are lost, and he tells them how to find the place they are looking for, but they look at him with suspicion.

Realizing why, Ralston removes the bandanna from his face and says, “I’m only a psychopath on weekdays. Today is Saturday.”

While the three of them spend some time together, Ralston tells them that he is an engineer, but hiking in areas like this is what he really wants to do, and he considers this his second home.

The girls invite Ralston to a party the next night at the place where they are staying, they say goodbye, and then the interesting part of the story begins.

Ralston falls in a crevice, and a large boulder dislodges and traps his arm against the rock wall.

The girls are out of shouting distance at this point, and now, you might ask, how can the story be interesting for the rest of the movie?

It might not be if the rest consisted of just grimacing, struggling, frustration, more struggling, more grimacing, even more struggling, and even more grimacing, but don’t forget all those Academy Award nominations and the talents of the writers, director, and actor.

127 HOURS is worth all the awards it receives, but don’t try this on your own.

I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”