Oscar Roundup: 127 Hours (Danny Boyle, 2010) ****

(This is the first in a series. As part of my goal to watch every Oscar nominee from every category excluding Foreign films that won't be available this year, I will also be doing a write up on each film, with my own review of the film and detailing it's chances for winning on Oscar night.)

Director: Danny Boyle
Cast: James Franco, Kate Mara, Amber Tamblyn, Treat Williams

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture, Best Lead Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Original Song, Best Original Score

Story: Based on the ordeal experienced by climber Aron Ralston (James Franco), whose arm got trapped by a boulder, leaving him stuck for several days and causing him to resort to extreme measures to free himself.

Review: A movie about a guy whose arm was stuck in a rock for 5 days doesn't sound very exciting. It would seem difficult to stretch such a story to make a feature length film. But never count out the artistry of Danny Boyle, who comes up with a film that is actually better than his good (but ultimately overrated) Oscar winner Slumdog Millionaire. He's aided by a stellar performance in the lead role by James Franco, who has come a long way as a dramatic actor in recent years. In the past, he had reverted to a mumble mouthed line delivery in many of his early dramatic roles that was off putting, but here he gives an incredibly ingratiating performance and does a terrific job of carrying the film as the only person on screen for most of the story. I've sometimes felt that Boyle goes over the top with flashy and self conscious directing techniques, but here the style works perfectly to capture what was going through the mind of his main character. It's a shocking, but ultimately triumphant story of a man who does whatever he can to stay alive, thematically similar (if stylistically very different) to Robert Zemeckis' outstanding Cast Away.

Oscar Outlook: 127 Hours will most likely walk home empty handed, although the song category is unpredictable. It certainly has no shot for Picture, Lead Actor, or Screenplay, as all three of those categories are essentially locks at this point.

Trivia: James Franco is an Oscar nominee in the same year that he is hosting. This has happened 5 times previously, with hosts Frank Capra (You Can't Take it With You) and David Niven (Separate Tables) winning, while hosts Michael Caine (Sleuth), Walter Matthau (Sunshine Boys), and Paul Hogan (Crocodile Dundee screenplay) watched someone else take home the trophy. Franco will undoubtedly join that latter group as Colin Firth is a certainty in the lead actor race.