127 Hours

[woot]

Not sure if there's a thread for this one yet, so forgive me if I missed it.

Best movie of the year.

The subject matter is powerful, and Boyle is somehow able to keep it not only watchable, but actually exciting the whole time.

I was reminded of Touching the Void, another powerful movie with similar subject matter, but 127 Hours might be even better. James Franco and Danny Boyle were both perfect. I'm hoping for an oscar nod for Franco, although it's a pretty unorthodox performance so it might not.

So I think I've now seen all of the movies that will be nominated for best picture. My top 10 is something like this:

1. 127 Hours
2. The King's Speech
3. The Social Network
4. Inception
5. Exit through the Gift Shop
6. Black Swan
7. The American
8. Ghost Writer
9. Winter's Bone
10. The Kids are Alright

True Grit, The Fighter, and Toy Story 3 might be nominated but they didn't do much for me.

Honorable mentions go to the Millennium Trilogy, The Town, and Scott Pilgrim, with a few others that could make the list after I see them.

[marsupial]

Not sure if there's a thread for this one yet, so forgive me if I missed it.

Best movie of the year.

The subject matter is powerful, and Boyle is somehow able to keep it not only watchable, but actually exciting the whole time.

I was reminded of Touching the Void, another powerful movie with similar subject matter, but 127 Hours might be even better. James Franco and Danny Boyle were both perfect. I'm hoping for an oscar nod for Franco, although it's a pretty unorthodox performance so it might not.

So I think I've now seen all of the movies that will be nominated for best picture. My top 10 is something like this:

1. 127 Hours
2. The King's Speech
3. The Social Network
4. Inception
5. Exit through the Gift Shop
6. Black Swan
7. The American
8. Ghost Writer
9. Winter's Bone
10. The Kids are Alright

True Grit, The Fighter, and Toy Story 3 might be nominated but they didn't do much for me.

Honorable mentions go to the Millennium Trilogy, The Town, and Scott Pilgrim, with a few others that could make the list after I see them.

I was unimpressed with the Kid are All Right. Julianne Moore and Annette Benning were not very convincing to me. What did you like about it?

[woot]

I was unimpressed with the Kid are All Right. Julianne Moore and Annette Benning were not very convincing to me. What did you like about it?

I mostly threw it at #10 because there weren't a ton of great movies this year, at least that I've seen. I thought it was a reasonably effective look at the vagaries of marriage from a slightly different viewpoint. It walked a well-trodden path to do it, but had just enough to say that I gave it a pass. But yeah it is likely to get bumped by the time I watch a few more from 2010 that are supposed to be good.

[MarkGrace]

http://cougaruteforum.com/showthread.php?t=34231&highlight=Hours

And from what I've read Franco is pretty much a shoo-in at this point.

[MarkGrace]

My end-of-the-year favorites.

10. Inception/The Kid's Are All Right/Winter's Bone - I'm putting these all together as films that came with major hype but for me were just ok.

9. Greenberg - Surprisingly detailed with its characters and an interesting look at a disaffected individual

8. Shutter Island - Perhaps benefitting from the fact that I had zero expectations for it, Scorcese nailed the ambiance in this homage to Hitchcock

7. The Social Network - No specific problem with it that I could point out, but didn't have the blow-me-away scenes that some of the top films did (though the regatta scene was pretty terrific in both its imagery and symbolism).

6. Exit Through the Gift Shop - hoax or not, creates dialogue about and a skewering critique of the value of art and authenticity.

5. True Grit - Solid top to bottom and several outstanding scenes.

4. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World - 20 minutes too long (one GF too many), but a dazzling visual experience and rioutous time at the theater.

3. The Town - if not for a coda that dipped a little too far into the sentimental, this might have challenged the top 2.

2. 127 Hours - fascinating character portrayal; Boyle took on a supreme challenge to tell this story and aced it.

1. Black Swan - engrossing for me on about every level; the last act is one of the best and most powerful scenes that I've seen in I don't know how many years.

And of course I missed a bunch of stuff (that I will watch before Oscar season) that might have factored, including: The King's Speech, Blue Valentine, Rabbit Hole, The Fighter, Carlos, In the Company of Men, etc.

[Levin]

Rabbit Hole is superb. Best performance from Kidman since To Die For. Aaron Eckhart is also very good. A very sensitive treatment of how parents and a marriage cope with the death of a child.

[woot]

I was so impressed with 127 Hours that I read Aron Ralston's book. It's extremely good and highly recommended. It's amazing what he went through. The movie does a superb job of allowing the audience to feel the pain and despair, but it doesn't tell even a fraction of the story.

For example, the boulder smashed his left hand on the way down, glancing off the left wall of the slot before smashing his right hand against the opposite wall. So, the whole time he's rigging up the various mechanisms and trying chip away at the boulder, he's doing it with a severely crippled hand. He then manages to break a couple bones in his left hand with the force of smashing a rock into the boulder, trying to remove enough material to extricate his hand.

So, he performed his surgery with a very short, dull knife with a severely smashed and broken non-dominant hand, all in about 40 minutes. The knife couldn't get through one of the tendons (I'm guessing the flexor digitorum sheath, but he doesn't specify), so he ripped it apart layer by layer with his pliers.

If he had amputated the arm earlier, he probably would have bled out, as the rescue team would have taken much longer to get to him (the helicopter was parked next to his truck when he finds the family that helped him).

So crazy. Truly inspiring.

[marsupial]

I was so impressed with 127 Hours that I read Aron Ralston's book. It's extremely good and highly recommended. It's amazing what he went through. The movie does a superb job of allowing the audience to feel the pain and despair, but it doesn't tell even a fraction of the story.

For example, the boulder smashed his left hand on the way down, glancing off the left wall of the slot before smashing his right hand against the opposite wall. So, the whole time he's rigging up the various mechanisms and trying chip away at the boulder, he's doing it with a severely crippled hand. He then manages to break a couple bones in his left hand with the force of smashing a rock into the boulder, trying to remove enough material to extricate his hand.

So, he performed his surgery with a very short, dull knife with a severely smashed and broken non-dominant hand, all in about 40 minutes. The knife couldn't get through one of the tendons (I'm guessing the flexor digitorum sheath, but he doesn't specify), so he ripped it apart layer by layer with his pliers.

If he had amputated the arm earlier, he probably would have bled out, as the rescue team would have taken much longer to get to him (the helicopter was parked next to his truck when he finds the family that helped him).

So crazy. Truly inspiring.

I am really looking forward to seeing this movie. By the time we were able to get a sitter and go it was already gone. It was only here for two or three weeks. Maybe I'll just read the book while I wait. Thanks.

[jay santos]

Haven't seen 127, King's Speech, or True Grit yet.

So far I have

1. The Town
2. Black Swan
3. Social Network
4. Inception
5. Ghost Writer

Winter's Bone is close
Kids are Alright was just alright
Scott Pilrim: not feeling it
The American: good idea but ultimately just didn't relate to any of the characters

[MarkGrace]

I am really looking forward to seeing this movie. By the time we were able to get a sitter and go it was already gone. It was only here for two or three weeks. Maybe I'll just read the book while I wait. Thanks.

Don't read the book. There's a surprise ending that deals with his arm and you wouldn't want to spoil it.

[BigPiney]

I am really looking forward to seeing this movie. By the time we were able to get a sitter and go it was already gone. It was only here for two or three weeks. Maybe I'll just read the book while I wait. Thanks.

The book was really good. I went into it thinking the guy was an idiot, based on what I had seen of him in the past, but reading the book I really emphathised with him. It does a good job of explaining hte situation and the direness of it all..