THE HELP (2011)

Every movie-goer likes an underdog, because every movie-goer likes to be inspired. Without a doubt, The Help accomplishes all this and more while continuing a theme from The Rise of the Planet of the Apes - one focused on civil rights. In this case though, it's one based on a true story. It's not a story that hasn't been told before, but it still amazes me when I watch a movie like this (that takes place only fifty years ago) and see just how far we've come in progressing racial equality. Unfortunately, fifty years has only made racism more taboo as opposed to obliterating it all together. Even then, it feels more like some people have just shifted their hatred to other races around the world.

The Help is based on the novel by Kathrym Stockett, with the screen adaptation by Tate Taylor - who also directs. It centers around Skeeter Phelan (Emma Stone), an aspiring journalist who finds herself doing a housekeeping column in a Jackson, Mississippi newspaper. Upon asking a friend's maid for cleaning tips, she finds out a lot more about what's going on between black maids and the white families they serve. The main maid in question is named Aibileen Clark, who is played by the wonderful Viola Davis.

Hesitant at first, Aibileen eventually gives in and begins to tell Skeeter her story. It only takes one call to the publisher of her dreams for Skeeter's idea to be tentatively picked up. There's a problem however, very few maids want to tell their story - even if Skeeter's attempt to share their inequality with the world is righteous. Especially when it comes to the ability for a maid to use a white family's toilet. As Skeeter states, the maids are allowed into these homes and are instructed to watch out for the children and essentially hold the ideal American suburban dream together. Yet, they have fewer human rights.

Along with the 'goodwill towards all mankind' message, a strong feature of The Help is the outstanding performances. Both Stone and Davis are pitch perfect and have a good chance at Oscar nominations, as does Allison Janney (who plays Skeeter's mother). The biggest surprise performance for belonged to Jessica Chastain, who plays a white woman who finds herself similarly outcast by the rest of the debutants.

The Help gets an open door. It's inspiring, touching and funny. Stone is at her best in this film and shows us what the cutie from Superbad can really accomplish. It makes me all the more hopeful for The Amazing Spider-Man next year (in which she coincidentally takes over Bryce Dallas Howard's role as Gwen Stacy). While at times The Help verges on something we've seen before, it never loses it's heart. It's that heart that keeps the film together, and keeps you caring.

*Stills courtesy of Dreamworks SKG

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SANCTUM (2011)

Sank-dumb...

First off, this isn't a James Cameron film. That needs to be made clear to those of you saying "Oh, I'm on my way to see James Cameron's Sanctum" or "the new James Cameron flick". This needs to be stressed in a way most things don't, because if Sanctum were a real James Cameron picture you would undoubtedly see a nice Open Door logo to your left. No, this is indeed an Aliston Grierson film, who in the past has also directed... - well, nothing (that is to say nothing that's ever mattered).

Sanctum is about a group of people who get stuck in a cave underground somewhere in Papua New Guinea, just as a cyclone starts flooding that same cave. Think The Descent (2005) mixed with Hard Rain (1998) mixed with a bus load of bullshit. By the end of this thing I had seen more unoriginal and satirical material than one can find in all the nineteen Scary Movies combined.

Breaking it down, the film is about a father-son relationship that needs some work. The father, Frank, is played by Richard Roxburgh and the son, Josh, is played by Rhys Wakefield. There are other characters involved, of course, (including Fantastic Four's Ioan Gruffudd) but they don't really matter because in the end all you have is a group of flat, two-dimensional characters fighting their way through a predictable storyline that ends in just as a predictable fashion.

I am (obviously) giving Sanctum a closed door. While the 3D was fine and the cinematography pretty well done, there's nothing here we haven't seen before. It's the usual fight-for-your-life survival story with one character who panics, one guy who's the hero, one character who's a selfish butthole and another who knows everything. While parts of this film are enjoyable and some people may find this 'adventure' amusing, enjoyable or maybe even inspiring, for me it just came off as ... meh. No-name filmmaker? Yes. James Cameron? HELLZ NO!

*Stills courtesy of Relativity Media

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127 HOURS (2010)

Hello....? Spider-Man? I'm sorryyyyyyy....

James Franco plays Aron Ralston in this amazing true story directed by the wonderful Danny Boyle. The tale goes like this: one day in 2003, Ralston was canyoneering in Utah when he slipped down a crevice and inadvertently got trapped, by pinning his arm in between a rock and a hardplace (also the title of Ralston's book). Surprisingly, a few years before the age of MySpace and Facebook, Ralston still felt the need to document his adventures via the mediums of digital photography and video. Boyle uses these devices, by the way, as a great storytelling tool - but it's certainly nothing we haven't seen before.

The movie itself does not run the actual 127 hours, but a mere ninety or so - which is perfect. During this time we become privy to knowing who Ralston is and a bit about his life. Boyle uses some nice techniques to take us inside Ralston's head as he slowly slips into madness from lack of nourishment. The parts I found the most intriguing though were those where Ralston filmed his video diaries. Even as he came face to face with impending death, a part of who he was and his casual demeanor shone through and he was still able to hold onto a sense of humour - as dark as that humour may have been at times.

Unsurprisingly, this film reminded me a lot of movies like Cast Away (2000), Into the Wild (2007) and more recently, last year's Frozen. Although I don't suspect it will happen, eventually I would like to see a documentary containing the real footage and photos Ralston captured. While Franco is at his best here (I've never really been a fan), there's something to be said for seeing the real Ralston going through the real thing.

127 Hours easily gets an open door. It's incredibly haunting, very touching and in some ways - a bit spiritual. Boyle does a great job with everything from the unique cinematography to the incredibly effective soundtrack. This is by far the most compelling docudrama of 2010 and I would keep an eye on it come Oscar time.

*Stills courtesy of 20th Century Fox

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