Review - Everest

The Himalayas are an astonishing sight (or so I assume – never been there), and Mt. Everest reigns supreme. Drawing climbers from around the globe with the tantalizing challenge of standing at the very top of the world, Earth's highest mountain inspires awe, but what it deserves even more is reverence.
Beautiful things can be deadly, and this is no place for those who fear death.

It was a tragic lesson learned in the spring of 1996 when two commercial mountaineering outfits became stranded on the summit in the midst of a ferocious blizzard. Everest dramatizes this catastrophe extensively, cobbled together from what survivor accounts could be disseminated.

Unknown director Baltasar Kormákur was probably the least expected name to oversee a big-budget fall studio project with a large, starry cast. Accordingly, the movie he's delivered is not quite what you'd expect either. In fact, it's harder to peg down than ropes to an ice face in whiteout conditions.

One Category at a Time: Adapted Screenplay

This past weekend saw the awards race continue to take a turn for the worse as The King's Speech strolled through the DGA and SAG awards that aught rightfully have gone to more deserving films. It's likely heading for a sweep of sorts, much to the detriment of the superior Social Network, but there's at least one category where Fincher's film won't be in direct competition with the kingly juggernaut.
Needless to say, anybody other than Aaron Sorkin nabbing the Adapted Screenplay prize would be an utter shock and embarrassment. What he accomplished with The Social Network is one of the finest pieces of intelligent and artful screenwriting in years.

That being said, the rest of the field is still a respectable bunch. True Grit is wonderfully written by the Coens, as always, featuring period-appropriate dialogue and an excellent sense of timing. Toy Story 3 is also one of the year's best scripts (although it should be competing in the Original category), lingering on the verge of greatness for the first 90 minutes, and then finally not only meeting it, but exceeding it with that potent, beautiful ending. Danny Boyle's innovation as a filmmaker continued exploring tricky and challenging territory with his and Simon Beaufoy's unique work in 127 Hours, and Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini did a fine job at building intrigue in the grainy Winter's Bone.

It's a shame David Lindsey-Abaire's Rabbit Hole or Polanski & Harris' The Ghost Writer couldn't find room here, but at the end of the day, it's a moot point.

The Academy 'Likes' Aaron Sorkin.

Will win: The Social Network
Runner-up: True Grit

Should win: The Social Network
Should have been nominated: Rabbit Hole

Review - 127 Hours

Much ado has been made of Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours, the cinematic retelling of a decidedly uncinematic true story; the one of thrill-seeker Aaron Ralston, who, in 2003, became trapped in a canyon in Utah and was forced to amputate his own arm after 127 grueling hours.

In Boyle’s version, Ralston (terrifically played by James Franco) first experiences hallucinations and eventually moments of epiphany during his harrowing 6-day ordeal. Through his script (co-written by Simon Beaufoy), Boyle makes his movie about more than just what happened to a man, but about the importance of not shunning society. It’s only through his arduous week-long isolation that Ralston realizes he’s been isolated longer than he knew.

My thoughts are split pretty much straight down the middle on this film, so I’m going to organize them into a paragraph on what I loved about it, and a paragraph on what I really didn’t love about it.

What I loved: Kudos to Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy, and producer Christian Colson (all of them Oscar winners for Slumdog Millionaire you’ll recall) for having the brass balls to try and put a story like this on the big screen. The entertainment industry is woefully deficient in filmmakers who are willing to take risks, push boundaries, and challenge themselves. I have nothing but respect and amazement for them having delivered something inventive and original. But the film’s biggest ace is star James Franco, who holds all 90 minutes of the movie almost entirely by himself. What I’ll ultimately remember 127 Hours as is a gripping performance piece from a skilled actor. I also sing the praises of Boyle’s audio team for assembling a slick sound design.

What I didn’t love: This is every inch a Danny Boyle film. That’s not a knock against the auteur’s style, but I’ll explain. All of the stylistics of his previous work is there: split screens, frenetic editing, creative camera work, thumping music… which all worked swell for the likes of Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, or Slumdog Millionaire. But for what is essentially a one-man show set within a crack in a rock, that aesthetic just didn’t fit. I didn’t feel the isolation and claustrophobia of Ralston’s situation because the distractions of Boyle’s approach kept removing me from the experience. I daresay the music and the editing ended up getting on my nerves.

The brilliance of Franco’s performance and the ambition of Boyle as a director are worthy of four stars, but the fact that I didn’t really feel any closer to understanding Ralston’s character bumps 127 Hours down to a respectable miss.

But I doubt it'll miss with Oscar. Nominations for Picture, Director, Actor, and Editing are pretty much assured, with likely nods for Cinematography, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Original Score, and possibly Original Song and Adapted Screenplay coming as well.

*** out of ****