Been too busy to be at the movies as much as I would like lately, but I carved out a little time on Saturday to shoot out to the big theater in Valley View to see "127 Hours," based on the true story of Aron Ralston, a mountain climber who found himself trapped by a large rock in a canyon.

I'm generally not a big fan of James Franco -- he tends to have this empty quality on screen to me -- but he's quite good as Ralston. Considering that for most of the movie he has no one to interact with -- not even a volleyball -- Franco really does a nice job in keeping you invested in the character. He portrays Ralston as a likable if somewhat selfish fellow -- he doesn't call his mom enough, does what he likes most of the time, etc. -- who believes he is going to die but continues to work on ways to free his right arm from between a big rock and a hard place. (The movie is based on Ralston's autobiography, "Between a Rock and a Hard Place.")

Also quite worthy of praise is director Danny Boyle ("Slumdog Millionaire"). He offers a clinic in claustrophobic filmmaking, keeping the camera tight on Franco most of the time he's trapped. To break up the monotony, Boyle uses flashbacks and hallucinations to shed light on Ralston's psyche. It's all very well done.

SPOILER ALERT/CONTENT WARNING: Don't read on if you don't want to know how things end for Ralston. However, if you've not yet heard about this movie, you might want to know that the manner in which he is able to free himself is quite gruesome and, reportedly, has caused some folks to become ill in the theater. (I didn't get sick, but I may have turned my head a bit and watched out of the corner of my eye.)

"127 Hours," rated R and running 1 hour, 35 minutes, is also playing at Cedar Lee Theatre in Cleveland Heights. Hopefully this movie will go wider as it marches through Hollywood's awards season.

-- Mark Meszoros