127 hours

When the sun starts to go down on the canyonlands of south-eastern Utah in the American west, it bathes the vast rock formations and caverns in a deep red glow. It’s beautiful.

But at night, if you’re alone, it can be a cold and frightening place. Particularly if you find yourself trapped in one of the deep ravines that split the sandstone monoliths in two. It would be difficult for anyone to hear you during the day – but in the dark, a cry for help would be met with only silence.

No one knows that more than 35-year-old Aron Ralston. In 2003, he had gone hiking, alone, near Robbers Roost – an old outlaw hideout used in the dying days of the wild west by Butch Cassidy. But while Ralston was climbing down a narrow slot in Bluejohn Canyon, a boulder became dislodged, crushing Ralston’s right forearm and pinning it against the wall.

For five and a half days, he struggled to get free until he was forced to do the unthinkable. Using a blunt knife from his multi-tool, he began amputating his arm. This month Ralston’s incredible tale of survival comes to the big screen courtesy of film-maker Danny Boyle, in his new movie, 127 Hours.

Ralston was raised in the suburbs of Indianapolis, Indiana, but moved with his parents to Denver, Colorado when he was 11. He was a bright student and after university he moved to Arizona to work for Intel. But the lure of the great outdoors was too strong and he eventually left his job and moved to Aspen, in the Colorado Rockies. There he would hike, ski and cycle. He also set out to become the first person to climb all 55 of the state’s mountains over 14,000ft, alone in winter

The Hunger Games

In a dystopian future, the totalitarian nation of Panem is divided into 12 districts and the Capitol. Each year two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal retribution for a past rebellion, the televised games are broadcast throughout Panem. The 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors while the citizens of Panem are required to watch. When 16-year-old Katniss' young sister, Prim, is selected as District 12's female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart, Peeta, are pitted against bigger, stronger representatives, some of whom have trained for this their whole lives.

Limitless

  

An action-thriller about a writer who takes an experimental drug that allows him to use 100 percent of his mind. As one man evolves into the perfect version of himself, forces more corrupt than he can imagine mark him for assassination. Out-of-work writer Eddie Morra's (Cooper) rejection by girlfriend Lindy (Abbie Cornish) confirms his belief that he has zero future. That all vanishes the day an old friend introduces Eddie to NZT, a designer pharmaceutical that makes him laser focused and more confident than any man alive. Now on an NZT-fueled odyssey, everything Eddie's read, heard or seen is instantly organized and available to him. As the former nobody rises to the top of the financial world, he draws the attention of business mogul Carl Van Loon (De Niro), who sees this enhanced version of Eddie as the tool to make billions. But brutal side effects jeopardize his meteoric ascent. With a dwindling stash and hit men who will eliminate him to get the NZT, Eddie must stay wired long enough to elude capture and fulfill his destiny. If he can't, he will become just another victim who thought he'd found invincibility in a bottle.