The Monitor staff screens, scrutinizes three Academy Award nominees for Best Picture

Though the plot sounds trite, the story is captivating. Even if you already know the story of Micky Ward, the movie is not predictable in the least. Audiences are surprised to find that the documentary crew is not filming the story of Dicky’s comeback, but rather the story of his drug problem in order to scare kids away from crack, and equally surprised when he is later able to walk away from drugs completely.

The acting in this movie is deserving of endless praise. Bale’s portrayal of a drug addict’s struggles is genius. This role is a complete 180 from his most famous role as Batman. Bale shows his versatility, complete with a Boston accent. His performance nearly equals the talent of the 17-year-old Bale in Newsies (Again, coming from me, this is the highest compliment). Amy Adams is excellent as Charlene. She is funny, sexy and flawlessly shows the incredible strength of women in this male-dominated environment. Wahlberg is outshone by the rest of the cast, but is brilliant as well.

The Fighter takes time to show the influence of family—both good and bad. The message is powerful and told remarkably well. The film is nominated for seven Academy Awards, each of which is well-deserved.

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127 Hours Review

Carter Floyd

 Staff Writer

Let me start with this-spoiler alert: he cuts his freaking arm off.

If at any point you have planned to see Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours, you most likely know the plot— and it’s not relatively lengthy: a guy goes out canyoneering, doesn’t tell anyone and gets pinned by a boulder. Without a sufficient supply of food and water he is forced, out of desperation, to determine a way to make it out alive. If it hadn’t been a true story, and if I hadn’t seen Aaron Ralston on the news shortly after the actual event, I don’t think I would have been as excited about the film, and would have been skeptical of the plot.

The film was cast perfectly. Originally, Cillian Murphy of 28 Days Later fame was set to star as Ralston, but ultimately— and luckily— James Franco received the role. Throughout the film, Franco bounces with accuracy and control between peaks of humor and crevasses of intensity. I still can’t imagine a more fulfilling portrayal of Ralston.

The film begins with Ralston gearing up for a day of climbing by rocking out in his truck the night before as he drives to the start of the. The action starts the next morning when Ralston sets off on his bike, attempting to ride down the trail in 45 minutes less than suggested in the guidebook. The ride is shot both as a normal action sequence, but contains short interjecting scenes in which Ralston films his ride from the handle bars of his bike with his portable hand held video camera.

After he sets off, he meets two strangers whom he helps guide through the canyon, but after helping them, sets off deeper into Blue John Canyon. It is here where Ralston climbs over boulders sandwiched between canyon walls, each time placing his foot carefully. One boulder, however, slips between the canyon walls and falls with Ralston, crushing his arm and pinning him against the wall.

Once he realizes that he is trapped at the bottom of the canyon, Ralston begins rationing water, chipping away at the rock with a knife and attempts to devise pulley systems to release him from his entrapment. He decides to fashion a tourniquet so that he can cut off his arm, but the knife is not sharp enough to cut through the skin. Instead, Ralston has to stab himself, but then realizes he will not be able to cut through the bone.

During his time spent trapped, Ralston uses his hand-held camera to document his time through a video log that seems to act as a second character. It does this in the way Wilson, the volleyball, does in Cast Away, giving Ralston something to respond to as he acts out funny game show skits that are both relieving and depressing. In the scene which contains both of these sentiments, Ralston stretches out for only a fleeting moment of light and warmth before the sun passes fully over the canyon.

Eventually, after all has failed, he begins drinking his own urine to survive, which he has saved in his camel-pack. He finally gains the strength to break his own arm so that he can self-amputate and release himself. In this scene, a high pitch noise shrieks over x-ray images of the knife hitting the last nerve until it finally snaps, giving way for Ralston’s release from the boulder.

During the film, it is impossible not to feel stuck between the boulder and the wall, helpless and desperate, tired and out of breath. The scene seems to take forever in the mind and has sent audience members and reviewers alike into fainting spells in spite of the fact that it only spans a few minutes.

127 Hours is one of the better films I have seen in a long time, but I’m not sure if it is a film that I could muster up the energy to watch again.

It’s an impressive one-man show. There are other actors in this film such as the characters shown in flashbacks of family and the couple strangers Ralston meets before his accident, as well as the few he meets afterward, but the film belongs to James Franco, just as the Oscar for Best Leading Actor should.

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The Kids are Alright

Tara Moreland

Staff Writer

One of the more independent films nominated for Best Picture at this year’s Oscar awards is The Kids Are All Right, directed by Lisa Cholodenko. The film presents a refreshing and thought-provoking storyline about an unconventional family whose relationships with one another are put to the ultimate test when unexpected conflicts arise.

The film stars Annette Bening as Nic, a doctor living in California with her wife Jules, a landscape architect, played by Julianne Moore. The couple has two children: Joni, 18, (Mia Wasikowska) and Laser, 15, (Josh Hutcherson) who the couple gave birth to by artificial insemination from an anonymous donor.

At the opening of the film, Laser (yes, his name is really Laser), expresses a desire to his older sister Joni (named after Joni Mitchell, in case you were wondering), to contact their sperm donor and meet him. Initially, Joni is opposed to this idea for fear of upsetting "moms," which is the name that the siblings use to refer to their mothers as a parental unit. However, Joni agrees to contact the donor bank and get their biological father’s information, and Joni and Laser finally meet their father, Paul, played by Mark Ruffalo. Joni connects with him quickly, while Laser expresses his skepticism of Paul, who is an organic restaurant owner and free-spirited bachelor. Eventually both siblings warm up to Paul and he finally is introduced to Nic and Jules.

Jules and Paul have a connection right away, while Nic feels extremely threatened by Paul’s presence and pushes him, and incidentally Jules, away. Paul hires Jules to do landscaping work on his home, and shortly thereafter the two become involved romantically. Not knowing that her wife is involved in the affair, Nic finally decides to give Paul a chance and welcome him into her family. Not long after extending the gesture, Nic discovers the affair and Paul is banished from having contact with the family, with Joni and Laser pushing him away for coming in between their mothers and Jules being ostracized by the family for cheating on Nic.

The end of the film shows the family’s attempt at repairing their broken relationships, as well as Joni’s move to college and entrance into adulthood. Although things are not perfect at the conclusion, the viewer is given hope that Nic and Jules will reconcile and the family will once again be the strong unit that was introduced initially.

While the family’s situation might seem atypical to some viewers, throughout the movie’s progression this detail becomes less important, and one is left more concerned about the family’s well-being and if their conflicts ultimately will be resolved. This is a testament to Cholodenko’s sharp directing and a plot that gives the realization that although the film deals with an unconventional family, the issues that they are faced with are universal to many relationships, both hetero- and homosexual. The additional themes of parent-child relationships, flawed marriages and simply growing up give the movie a plot that is relatable and touching.

Although The Kids Are All Right has tough competition in this year’s Best Picture category at the Oscars, it is also nominated for Best Screenplay, something which was crafted excellently in this film. Bening and Ruffalo are nominated for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor, respectively.The Kids Are All Right is a gem within the films nominated for Best Picture, and deserves not to be overlooked by the Academy at this year’s Oscars.