Red Rock. Red Rock.

When 27 year old Aron Ralston entered the red rock formations of Canyonlands National Park in Utah in 2003 you can bet the guy was looking for adventure. What else would a free spirit high on life pleasure hiker be looking for in a canyon? What Ralston got instead was the ultimate nightmare: a slip of foot, a descent into walls of granite, his right arm crushed and pinned by a loose bolder, his legs dangling above the ground forty feet below. For 127 Hours. Alone.

Me? I don't hike much.

I remember hearing about Ralston's story, and (SPOILER) his survival within it, years ago on the talk show circuit (go Oprah), so when I found out it was being adapted for the big screen I was more than a little concerned. I assumed the thrill bending tale would get the Tom Hanks treatment and we'd have Cast Away: The Second Spike on our hands. But when I heard Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, Trainspotting) was helming the project  I became intrigued. I'm not a huge Slumdog fan but I love me some Trainspotting and Boyle openly said his take on the film wouldn't be just about showing us what transpired with Ralston's trapped body and the lengths he took to free himself, but exploring what transpired in Ralston's trapped mind. 

And then I found out James Franco would be starring and Ralston and I kind of lost it a bit. Okay, a lot.

Here's the deal. I idolize James Franco. He could eat paper and I'd watch. I've seen and gushed over everything the guy's ever done. I dare you to watch The James Dean Story and not feel like an icon's life's been intimately shared with you. I dare you to not be disarmed by his charm at an instant in Milk.  Heck, I dare you to watch his stint on General Hospital and not be impressed by his playful immersion into the world of daytime drama (Franco called the stint "performance art" by the way and aired his final episode of the show at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles last June).

And then I saw this:

In a word, Franco is impressive. I'm betting the same thing will be said for 127 Hours when all is said and done. It hits theatres on Friday. You going? Let me know what you think!