Injured Hiker Survives 4 Days in Desert

James Franco dazzles in Danny Boyle's latest

(NEWSER) - Critics are absolutely fawning over 127 Hours, Danny Boyle's latest directorial triumph. James Franco plays real-life hiker Aron Ralston, who found himself pinned by a boulder in a cavern and [spoiler alert] amputated his own arm to escape. Here's what critics are saying:

• Boyle “pumps every frame of 127 Hours with cinematic adrenaline that declares war on the dull gravity of docudrama,” writes Peter Travers of Rolling Stone . “And James Franco does the best, most natural and nuanced acting of his career to date, lacing terror with bracing humor.”

Don't go see '127 Hours' if you have a weak stomach

(NEWSER) - Audiences are swooning at 127 Hours, and not because James Franco is just so dreamy. Paramedics were called to last night's UK premiere after people started fainting—and worse, the Sun reports. The gory film is based on the true story of a mountain climber, played by Franco, who cuts off his own arm after it gets trapped under a rock. "A man got up in the row behind me to rush out but he was sick in the aisle before he managed to get out," says one witness. Two people also fainted at a US screening earlier this month, Deadline reports. More»

Must have been one tough NYU prof

(NEWSER) - James Franco, who may be headed for an Oscar nomination for his role in 127 Hours, took an acting class at NYU … and got a D. “I did the work, I did well in everything else,” he tells Showbiz411 , attributing his low grade to lots of absences—he was, after all, shooting a movie—and the fact that the instructer probably felt uncomfortable working with him. For more from Franco, including his take on why he's played so many gay characters, click here . More»

ATV-riders also vie with quieter nature lovers

(NEWSER) - Outdoor enthusiasts are bickering with the feds and each other over the use of federally owned lands in Colorado, Utah, and Montana, the New York Times reports. Off-roading fans of motorcycles, pick-ups, and ATVs are butting heads with quieter explorers who hike or ride horseback and want to preserve the landscape—and the federal government is caught in the middle. More»