Carrying a Movie on your Shoulders...

Can really an actor carry on a whole movie on his own in the same Claustrophobic setting and still the end result be an interesting movie?..I thought if you have a good actor and good imagination it can happen but I never really considered it easy.I thought there was a huge risk of making such a movie boring and tiring. Yet last year 2 movies came out with that very characteristic and end up being pretty good, proving that I overestimated the difficulty of the style...Buried and 127 Hours... 

BURIED: My initial reaction to this movie was very positive...A movie about a man being buried alive. And the movie takes place in the coffin only with one actor.That is an original (if depressing) concept.When I thought of it a little more though I immediately ended up wondering...How can you actually make such a movie and keep it interesting for more than 10 minutes...I mean ok if it was a book it is easy...You can have whole chapters devoted on how the character feels and nothing could be happening and still this would be interesting. But in a movie?And which actor would take such a burden.Ryan Reynolds...? I mean, I like the guy and he is a good TV comedic actor but in his movie roles he was....eeehmmm..

And all these things were still in my mind even 10 minutes into the movie. But I was proven wrong.Without giving to much out the movie really kept me interesting until the end. Reynolds did a great job and could really feel his anxiety as he was trying to get himself out of this problem. Every single call was well thought of and every single thing that happen actually pushed the plot forwards.And the direction and the photography pretty impressive...It is quite an achievement to have a movie in such a confined space, as in a coffin, and still managing to show what is happening without frustrating the audience.Granted it had some WTF moments but still not enough to spoil it..Good surprise...

 

127 HOURS: That is certainly the best of the 2.It is actually a real story that many of us seen in the news in 2003. The story of the climber named Aron Ralston that had his hand trapped by a boulder in a canyon. Having made the grave mistake of not telling to anyone where he went that day he end up doing the only thing that would save his life.He amputated his arm by himself to free it.An extraordinary story indeed. 

Having the positive experience of buried and hearing the the good reviews I was less skeptical this time.And if a may say so, this was a great one.(Much better and unique than the actual winner...). The movie takes some time to introduce the character a little bit in the first 10 minutes.He does come out a little bit smug but in a very likable way.The movie does not linger too much but just enough to start connecting. And here another actor, that does  not have much to show in his movie carrier, does an excellent job. James Franco surprisingly totally deserved the nomination. The cinematography and directing was great...From the impressive and awe inspiring aerial scene of the canyons to the tense hallucinations of the character when he begun to brake the movie is visually excellent.It is generally  raw  and hard to watch but it does use it visuals and its actor really well to provide a visual story. With the best example the scene of the amputation itself.You do need nerves of steel for it but it is given flawlessly without becoming cheesy.A must see(if you can handle it)...