127 Hours (2010) ****

Directed by Danny Boyle

Aron Ralston (played by James Franco) is a cocky young thrill seeker who goes on a mini hiking vacation without telling anyone where he's going. He's enjoying his day hiking at a good pace but nothing too difficult when suddenly he slips and his hand is crushed and trapped by a boulder. 127 Hours is the story of his mental, emotional and physical ordeal. It shows his ingenuity, his strength and the highs and lows of human experience. Cut off from society with little chance of rescue he tries desperately to find a way out. He tries everything from chipping away at the boulder to building a pulley system out of climbing rope, but after a few days he realizes he has to cut his own arm off in order to survive. One of his few possessions is a small video camera on which he records a digital epitaph to his parents and family. Franco brilliantly shows the desperation, symptom of dehydration, delusion and eventually despair of the young hiker. Danny Boyle's direction heightens the sense of isolation as well as explores the need for humans to be a social animal. He also keeps the movie from being just a guy trapped on a rock and transforms it into a tale of rebirth.

Wouldn't be my pick for best picture, but definitely worth the nomination it received.

Rambo: First Blood (1982) ****

Directed by Ted Kotcheff

Starring Sylvester Stallone First Blood is a great action movie. I've quoted Ebert on this before that it's not the slashing that makes horror films fun, it's the waiting for the slashing. This isn't a horror film, but it uses the same principle towards action. John J. Rambo is a vietnam veteran who after discovering that he's the last of his team to be alive gets pushed around and abused by a small town cop. After losing control of himself he escapes and begins a war on the police officers involved in his mistreatment, using all his guerilla tactics and advanced training at his disposal to survive in the wilderness and hunting his hunters. The action is well paced with plenty of suspenseful "hunting" scenes as well as balls to the walls action. It does get a little ridiculous at times, but it's balanced enough to keep it intelligent. First Blood also puts a focus on the lack of help Nam vets received on returning home and the psychological baggage that came with that conflict. Stallone barely says a word the whole film but his physical and emotional presence is well felt.

One of the better straight up action movies.

Metropolis (1927) [2010 Extended/Recovered Version] *****

Directed by Fritz Lang

Metropolis is easily one of the greatest films of all time. Filmed in Germany in the interwar period, the film explores class issues in a capitalist society. Rather than embracing a marxist view of class struggle, the film promotes a non-violent, mediatory approach. It's also the most expensive silent film ever made.

The opening quote recalls Plato's Republic where the "head rules the belly through the chest" or the Aristocracy rule the masses through the army. Lang instead opens with "The Mediator between the Head and the Hands must be the Heart."

When the heir to Metropolis - Freder - encounters a working class woman - Maria - who shows him the workers' children and calls them his brothers, Freder is both smitten and intrigued. He searchers for here and encounters the terrible working conditions. From that point on he seeks to find a peaceful unity between the two. He is opposed by his fathers minions and by the mad scientist Rotwang who kidnaps Maria and makes a "Machine Man" in her image, who he uses to turn the workers against Freder's father.

With stunning effects (even today after all those years - there were phenomenal for the time), brilliant acting (you understand what the characters say despite the silence) and some straight up weird SF stuff make this just a wonderful film.

Everyone should see this.

The Producers (2005) ***

Directed by Susan Stroman

I haven't seen the 1968 version of The Producers starring Gene Wilder...but I'd like to. Mel Brooks screen play is sharp and fun and has done well on screen as well as on stage. However, where Wilder has always been a mesmerizing comedian I find Matthew Broderick is often stale. Yes his character has quirks and they're at times hilarious, but over all he has felt forced since his perfect role as Ferris Bueller. Broderick loves musicals. He remade one of my favourites, The Music Man, and I had the same complaint then: new fangled choreography can't make up for a cardboard cut out with little charm. Nathan Lane (most famous as Timon from The Lion King) is a voice actor mainly, but his outrageous vocal antics work in a flamboyant musical.

The premise: two men decide to make a cheap broadway flop and run away with the excess endorsements...but finding the worst actors/director/play is harder than one might think...and a ravishing Swedish girl might make things more complicated (played by Uma Thurman).

The songs are catchy, the antics ridiculous (Will Ferrell - who I normally do not enjoy - is a pretty great Nazi), but it doesn't quite feel right over all. I'm holding out on the original to satisfy me.