An Intense Experience and Great film!

Rating: 9/10 (4 February 2011)

Just saw 127 Hours and this was a spectacular experience! James Franco is truly remarkable, and gives a touching and triumphant performance of a man forced to take survival to the next level. While Tom Hanks had a whole island to explore and grow on, Franco has an arm wedged in-between a rock in a canyon. And he makes the most of it, with the infamous "amputation" scene being just as graphic and terrifying as its hyped to be.
I also want to praise the ending. I have been recently let down by endings from two other Oscar contenders (Black Swan and Blue Valentine). But this one has a satisfying finish, though no movie ending has ended as emotionally as The King's Speech this year. Kudos to Danny Boyle for bringing Franco's situation to other levels by inserting visions and hyper-hallucinations into the movie.
The best acting I saw from Franco was actually a smaller moment. When he's bidding farewell to the two pretty ladies who accompany him on a mini-adventure, they tell him about a party they want him to come to. As they're talking to him about it, he intertwines some "Umm-hmmms" and "uh-huhs" into the mix. The flat and almost automated way he speaks this dialog is extremely convincing. I have met many a guy who is sort of rushed in their way of interaction, and so the words he speaks come across muddled but still friendly. Franco also was a character who was sort of a loner in his own respect, and marched to his own drummer. And that comes across so well in Franco's interpretation.
This is one of the best films of 2010, and James Franco deserved his best actor Oscar nod. Also the music is uplifting and pat, and the song "If I Rise" is beautiful.