Everyone knows that I'm a really into nature movies, whether it's natural disasters, creature features, or survivalist-type malarchy, so my two selections today fall right into the latter categories perfectly: arm cutting 101 in 127 HOURS and an "extended" swim in the ocean with THE REEF.
127 HOURS, *** 1/2 (2010)
Right off the bat, anyone who wants to watch this movie needs to know that 95% of it is just James Franco talking to himself...and a giant rock. Surprisingly, he holds his own pretty well with his mineral-based boulder counterpart. I can't possibly "spoil" this for anyone as Aron Ralston's real life story of survival is (at this point) universally known, so I don't feel guilty telling anyone that the part where he breaks his own arm then cuts it off with a cheap pocket knife is technically impressive and the highlight of the movie. A few other choice moments, particularly the sequence where his thirst drives him into fantasizing about drinking water and his out-of-body "journey" back in time to his car are incredibly effective in portraying the kind of utter desperation necessary to make his performance completely believable. The attention to detail in recreating the real life events according to Aron Ralston himself is also highly commendable and worth noting, especially the fact that it was filmed literally at the exact same spot where he lost his arm in real life. Unfortunately, Danny Boyle's decision to include a hokey post-rock music soundtrack, combined with his inability to stay away from cliched sentimentality and a bloated and insipid inspirational ending (imagine a U2 music video or a car commercial or a car commercial with U2 music) tacked on at the very end keep this movie from being truly great. He is obviously on his way to be the next post-JURASSIC PARK Steven Spielberg and we all know that one of those is already too much.
THE REEF, **** 1/2 (2010)
This is unquestionably the greatest shark movie since JAWS. If you find yourself to be a connoisseur of the Carcharodan carcharias (meaning that you already know what I just wrote and didn't need to google it), you needed to watch this movie yesterday. Unlike the rather unsatisfying and drab OPEN WATER, which had a similar premise, this movie actually delivers the kind of scares that even the most hardened thriller buffs might find too nerve-racking. Taking advantage of natural underwater lighting, THE REEF does an incredible job of turning the cold blue vastness of the ocean into a horrifying aquatic underworld for 4 very unlucky people who find themselves stranded in the middle of the Coral Sea in Northern Australia after their yacht capsizes. I'm still stunned a few days after I saw it because I can not wrap my head around how some of the film's most extraordinary shots were even filmed. I can safely say that if you're even remotely afraid of what might lie beneath the surface of the ocean, this movie will make you catatonic. It is the stuff of nightmares.
0 comments:
Post a Comment