I knew nothing about this film on starting it. I think this is actually a pretty neat idea, no concept of what genre it is, what other people think of it, no expectations at all. It could have been a stinker Hollywood formula teenage drama for all I knew. Thankfully it wasn't. If you know nothing about this film, perhaps you should stop reading and come back when you have seen it. My only hint is that it's worthwhile.

Right, the rest of you. It started off with lots of scene setting while I played "guess the genre" And "guess the budget". Loads of interesting split shots that I suppose conveyed high energy and action. I was worried it would turn out to be like some surfer movie except set in the desert (man goes tramping in Grand Canyon) The main character , Aron Ralston, however was played by James Franco. To me this was a good sign as just about everyone who starred in Freaks and Geeks seems to have gone on to half-way decent to very good films. Despite the certain fears of both genre and to be honest, who lent me the film (great guy, just not sure if our tastes will align), it seemed quite engaging. But after the 10-20 minutes of scene setting, it became apparent that something awful or weird might happen. Would it be out of left-field like Quentin Tarantino's From Dusk Till Dawn (I was fortunate to not know what was ahead of me in that film too)? Or would it be suddenly scary? Or was something gruesome or just horrible about to happen?

Well it happened, he fell down a canyon and though he wasn't injured from the fall, a rock came with him and pinned his right hand. The rest of the movie is how he attempts to deal with this and how he gets out. It's a true story too. The cinematography is creative. Certain shots convey so much. The acting is brilliant. James Franco was convincing and emotive.

This was a gem of a film because of the skilful acting, directing and cinematography. The story is interesting (and a little sad) too however lets be honest, it could have gone so wrong. But it didn't. Highly recommended movie.

No Spoilers here.