'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' ***1/2stars

the best summer film yet and it's what summer movies are all about. by far the best visual effects of the year. if you don't root for the apes you are not human. andy serkis deserves a supporting actor nom for his portrayal of caesar but the academy tends to ignore these roles. perhaps a new category long denied should finally be created. james franco really has a supporting role to mr. serkis but says more with his eyes than most actors with words. just get your popcorn and enjoy this wonderful summer flick.

'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' Today

not much has come out this year that made me say 'i gotta see it'. well this i have to see...soon. well after what i think will be a weekend rush that is. hey it has james franco in it. that's enough in itself.

trailer

Apes Gone Wild

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Spirit Award Winners in Independent Film

Best Feature: “Black Swan”
Best Director: Darren Aronofsky, “Black Swan”
Best Actor: James Franco, “127 Hours”
Best Actress: Natalie Portman, “Black Swan”
Best Supporting Actor: John Hawkes, “Winter’s Bone”
Best Supporting Actress: Dale Dickey, “Winter’s Bone”
Best Screenplay: Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg, “The Kids Are All Right”
Best Documentary: “Exit Through the Gift Shop”
Best Foreign Film: “The King’s Speech”
Best First Feature: “Get Low”
John Cassavetes Award: “Daddy Longlegs”
Best First Screenplay: Lena Dunham, “Tiny Furniture”
Best Cinematography: Matthew Libatique, “Black Swan”
Robert Altman Award: The director, casting director and ensemble of “Please Give”
Piaget Producers Award: Anish Savjani, “Meek’s Cutoff”
Someone to Watch Award: Mike Ott, “Littlerock”
Truer Than Fiction Award: Jeff Malmberg, “Marwencol”

Oscarbation: '127 Hours' Is One of the Years Best

another film that will make my best of 2010. james franco is amazing. danny boyle directs this brilliant film. the grand canyon has never looked better. it's still in theaters so catch it on the big screen where the cinematography really needs to be seen.

'127 Hours': ***1/2 stars

james franco gives the performance of his career and possibly one of the best performance by an actor this year. it certainly is one of the best performances of all time.

danny boyle (slumdog millionaire) directs a minor masterpiece. the grand canyon costars with mr. franco as the alps did with julie andrews in 'the sound of music'. the terrain sets the man vs nature scenario. james franco shows the passage of these 127 hours all over his face. he is really quite remarkable.

if you don't know the story here it is in a nutshell: adrenalin junkie aaron ralston literally gets stuck between a rock and a hard place. to survive he must amputate his arm. he does. and he survives to live another day.

there is an amazing scene of a storm as the hero is caught in the canyon. it is beautifully directed and photographed. it sent shivers thru me.

this is not an easy film to watch in it's second half. however, you should not miss it. and to miss james franco's performance would be criminal for any film lover.

 james franco and director danny boyle

Franco and Hathaway to Host Oscars

well perhaps they got it half right. perhaps.
franco is that half. hathaway oy vay!

'127 Hours' Opens Friday

'127 hours' opens friday. it's getting a lot of oscar buzz. and it stars james franco who is amongst the best of his generation.

this is the one i've been waiting for along with 'the king's speech'.

three teasers

trailer