THE GUESTLIST NETWORK | JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2011
FILM 23
THE GREEN HORNET
Hollywood’s new golden boy Seth Rogen plays the lead role in star studded release The Green Hornet. Unfortunately, even though he’s joined on screen by a still hot at 38, Cameron Diaz, the movie looks set to flop. Maybe the comic-turned-film phase is dying, but a cast I love just failed to get me excited, and I was more than disappointed considering they had the world of heroin smuggling as
a key plot theme. All in all, I was expecting magic from the Rogen - Gondry pair, but the descent into brash action sequences with little in the way of comedy (despite the constant wise-cracks) left me with none of the fulfilling depth of titles like Watchmen. Poor performance, must... do... better....
2 stars out of 5 127 HOURS
Danny Boyle’s new film, “127 Hours,” was destined to live or die on the strength of it’s lead performance. Fortunately for Boyle, James Franco as ill-fated but cou- rageous rock climber Aron Ralston gave him perhaps the year’s best, carrying the film to unexpected heights in the process. Of course, a great deal of the credit must also go back to the director, whose prodigious talents and knack for energetic, frequently hyperkinetic pacing give Franco the impres- sive narrative backdrop to shine. However you slice it (er, no pun intended!), what could have been a grim, ponderous slog through the darkest hours in a young man’s life instead offers up a vibrant and insightful celebration of life.
Perhaps the most enjoyable aspect of the lead performance is the sense that, as viewers, we’ve left behind the somber and self-serious tones of other “great” award-orient- ed scenery-chewing for something altogether more well-rounded and human. Maintaining a believ- able, sustained sense of humour throughout – frequently (and understandably!) of the gallows variety – Franco keeps gravity and a giant boulder from dragging the material down while also reminding the audience exactly what’s at stake. Even more than an arm or an impressive physical specimen be- ing tested, there’s a fresh, inventive mind hanging in the balance and a bright future on the verge of being snuffed out. This is more than just a macho man-versus-nature battle.
Not for the fainthearted, a true story and definitely worth 93 minutes of your life! P.S. Beware! This may put you off climbing for life!
This is an exploration of humanity in all its forms at the frontier of its physical, mental, emotional and spiritual limits. An extraordinary acting feat, to say the least.
What Boyle and co. pull off is pos- sibly as remarkable an achievement as their review-thieving star, turning a brutal and lonely canyon outpost into a springboard for the heart and mind, taking us on a far-ranging journey but never losing grasp on the isolated hub at the center. As the filmmakers cast strands from Ralston’s mind, into memory and increasing flights of fantasy, we’re not being distracted from our hero’s debacle for the sake of a cheap pacing gimmick but, again, being reminded of just how painful and desperate the situation
is and how it continues to grow. With supreme confidence and skill, Boyle and his editor, Jon Harris, give the film a relentless forward momentum, occasionally taking the audience in unexpected, false-start directions but knowing just how far they can push us without losing their grip.
“127 Hours” represents a truly magnificent coming together of filmmaker, crew and cast with all involved working, inventing and executing at the top of their game and always in harmony. This brilliant character study is a perfect tribute to its inspiration and a refreshing reminder of the awesome power of the human spirit.
5 stars out of 5
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