"127 Hours" promises novel perspective,
carefully derives insight from authenticity
Excruciation, deficiency,
regret and despair don't even
begin to define Aron Ralston's
encounter with the abyss or
give meaning to the catharsis
following his journey But
with a devoted cast and
director, "127 Hours" takes the
audience partway there.
The film reconstructs the
real-life ordeal befalling Aron
Ralston, played by James
Franco as the a hardworking
engineer turned outdoor
recreation enthusiast who
embarks on a solo outdoor
adventure in Utah's
Canyonlands National Park.
In the middle of Blue John
Canyon, he tries to use a
chalkstone boulder as a hold
while making his way to the
canyon floor but the boulder
dislodges and crushes his
hand, pinning him near the
bottom.
With two days worth
of food, he begins to
problem solve using
climbing equipment and his
pocketknife in an attempt
to move the chalkstone,
but to no avail. After five
days in the canyon, Ralston
decides to amputate his arm
and despite blood loss and
dehydration manages to scale
, a 100 foot cliff before being
rescued.
Franco gives an incredible
performance which reflects
the power of an abyss of
delirium and disparity. He
demonstrates the weight of
Ralston's spiritual rebirth as a
mechanism akin to adrenaline
in its power to overcome the
unthinkable.
This film may have
advanced him to a new tier of
actors and may have possibly
been a step towards achieving
the status of best actor of
his generation. Instead of
overplaying certain emotions
as we might expect, primarily
fear and anger, Franco
deepens his performance
by reflecting Ralston's
background as a successful
outdoorsman and his fall
from invincibility.
Throughout the feature, I
found myself asking why we
aren't exposed to the lives
of his family members with
respect to his disappearance.
This is when I just began to
trust director Danny Boyle,
also the director of "Slumdog
Millionaire," and by the end
of the film, I found that the
omission of other perspectives
added to the emphasis on
isolation and self-reliance.
The simplicity of the film is
subtly belied by details from
Ralston's book, "Between
a Rock and a Hard Place"
which I unfortunately failed
to read beforehand. Still, after
watching an NBC interview
with Tom Brokaw, conducted
just six months after the
tribulation, I found that I was
able to pick up on some subtle
tried to enlist new fans to
expand their popularity and
receive even more money
than they already have. And
sometimes, bands make
albums just because they
can, not because they want
to. But they forget about the
fans that have been there with
them the whole way. This is
an unnecessary risk, which
almost never works.
I purchased the deluxe
edition which comes with
two more songs, "Don't
Look Down on Me" and
"Fashionable." "Don't Look
Down on Me" does manage
to pull off a mixture of the
new and the old, which
sounds pretty good—like
what the album should
have been. "Fashionable"
is a slow, steady song that,
unfortunately, last for seven
minutes. My attention span
has improved over the years,
but this is way too slow. It
drags on and on, building
occasionally.
Don't get me wrong, this
is still a good album, but you
have to really change your
perspective to appreciate
it. This percussion-focused
album does have some good
songs, regardless of your view
of the album in its entirety.
Songs like "Broken Open" are
part of the new approach, but
they are still good. The first
part of the album is okay, but
the second half is good.
In December 2009, Cold
War Kids released an EP titled
"Behave Yourself" with four
songs. When I listened to
this album, this is what I was
more or less expecting for the
new album. This EP—early
preview—is nothing like what
is on the album now, other
than they have the same band
members.
I really do like this band.
Songs like "We Used to
Vacation" and "Hospital
Beds" were songs that had
power and feeling, but this
album leaves me hanging.
If someone wanted to
understand this band, start
with "Robbers & Cowards/'
not because it's their first, but
because it's their best.
I would give this album a
★ ★ Y H ••••■A- »ecause,
honestly, I was
disappointed. This album is
like receiving a nice sweater
for Christmas. You like the
sweater because it's nice,
but it's not really what you
wanted or expected.
Cold War Kids sells for
$9.99 on iTunes (Deluxe is
$11.99) and is sold in music
stores for $13.99.
Cold War Kids hype gives people
false image of "Mine is Yours"
D anny M c G arry ______________
Cold War Kids, a Long
Beach based band, has been
producing funky soul for
seven years now, but have
they been able to stay true to
their roots? Quite honestly, no.
I'll admit it; I gave into
the hype. I was expecting an
album with maybe more of
their old stuff, a soulful blues,
but was a little disappointed
with the product I was so
anxiously awaiting. Now
some songs, like "Louder
Than Ever" and "Cold Toes
on the Cold Floor" still
somewhat echoed their
past albums, but others like
"Finally Begin" have this new,
trying-too-hard-to-make-a-
good-album impression. It
even has a bit of a Christian
rock tone.
Now this may sound
hipster (something I try not
to be, even though we're in
Portland), but I think they've
nuances because of the film's
realism and communicative
power.
From the burritos that
Ralston rations throughout
his struggle to the raven that
soars overhead and upon
which I will not elaborate, I
found myself focusing less
on the time and more on his
routine. These are only a few
of the examples of the ability
of the cast and production
crew to draw the viewer
in and to communicate the
surface of Ralston's emotion.
The varied filming and
editing techniques add
another layer of distinction
to the film. As expected,
the production team uses
a digital camcorder mock-
shot as Ralston actually did,
but they also incorporate
smooth transitions between
reality and Ralston's delusion
throughout the film. This
blurs the lines of reality
and recreates a feeling of
disorientation and confusion.
The sound department
was very impressive in its
incorporation of effects
including well timed and
emotionally riveting sounds
that stand alone. The
production team included
an editing technique called
a triptych view of three
columns in which each piece
being shot builds on one
another, drawing the viewer's
attention subconsciously to
the frame of interest.
A great movie can stand
alone without advertisements
or outrageous budgets. What
sets Boyle's filmmaking apart
is his attention to the premise
and the passion he has to
effectively translate meaning
without directly handing
it to the viewer. The movie
itself feels a lot like a mixture
between the rite of passage
concept of the adapted film
of John Krakauer's "Into the
Wild" and Boyle's "Slumdog
Millionaire," but takes on a
feeling all its own.
Ralston approved of the
movie's depiction and even
worked with the crew to
ensure accuracy, implanting
his own reactions into the
storyline. "(127 Hours) has
given me new perspectives
and on the other hand they
tell it so authentically that it is
still my story," Ralston said.
I would give the film five
stars out of five. The film
is rated R for language and
some disturbing violent
content including bloody
images.
playoffs with huge fan support
_______________ „_________ scorers in double figures
continued from page 12 including M itchell Cok-
With snow threatening ley, junior, who led the
the practices leading up to Lions with 19 points. Riley
the game, the team stayed Wilkerson, senior, added
focused through all the dis- 14 and Mario Shonkwiler
tractions. The Lions took and Ryan Shearmire each
an early lead, pressing the contributed 13. The Lions
Panthers into a frenzy. At won the game 84-60.
the end of the first quarter,
The fo llo w in g Tues-
the Lions led 24-10.
day, they faced the David
"Redmond was a great Douglas Scots, a team they
match-up for us because lost to earlier in the season
they're a good team, but by 14 points. The Lions
they don’t handle pres- kept the game close until
sure well," Viuhkola said, the fourth quarter, when
"We were able to dictate th ey o u tsco re d D avid
the speed of the game by Douglas 40-26.
pressuring them up and
"We probably played
down the floor. We played our b e st gam e o f the
some of our best defense in year against David Doug-
that game."
las," Viuhkola said. "Keith
Continuing their domi- Baggetta did a fantastic
n an ce, W est L in n out- job. In the first half he
scored Redmond 20-12 in might have had his best
the second quarter. The game. He was shooting the
second half of the game ball really well, as well as
w as fa irly even score- taking it to the basket and
wise, as the Lions allowed setting up his teammates
many of their starters a Mario and Ryan."
rest, giving some of their
West Linn won the game
less-experienced players 94-78, earning them the
the opportunity to play, opportunity to move on
W est Linn p laced four to the second round.