Counting the ‘Hours’

Actor, filmmaker and overly ambitious grad student James Franco earned an Oscar nomination for his turn as adventurous mountain climber Aron Ralston in Academy Award winner Danny Boyle’s harrowing drama 127 Hours, new in stores this week. Based on Ralston’s true story, Franco plays a man whose carefree existence is shattered when his right arm becomes trapped under a boulder in the Utah wilderness. All alone, Ralston must find a way to escape from under the rocks, even if it means losing his arm in the process. While contemplating that horrific decision, Ralston records messages to his family and flashes back to poignant points of his life, mistakes he has made and dreams of a brighter future. Kate Mara and Amber Tamblyn co-star. Rated R.