The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Ah, The Shawshank Redemption. It`s been a few years since the last time I saw this piece of art motion picture. I enjoyed watching it the last time too, but I wasn`t paying attention to what it was really all about back then. I just sat there, staring, thinking it was a good film, but waiting for it to end so I could put on another one, one with more action in it, like Rambo or Indiana Jones. I think I was too young the last time I watched it, I don`t think I quite managed to grasp the seriousness of it.

I`ve read and heard a lot about it lately, almost like it have had a second premiere or something. Pretty similar to the new movies in the theatres; this is the new, great film to go watch, even though it`s "old". I guess that can say a thing or two about the impression the film have had on people, the feeling people have been left with after watching it; never forgetting what it was like, still remembering and recommending it many years later. I could probably count on one hand the movies that have managed to do this. To be quite honest, the only other film I can think of is Gladiator (2000).
One of the best parts in the entire movie, the one part that sticks with you after the film has ended, is when the old man in the library gets the message that he`s to be set free. He doesn`t want to leave. The prison is his home, after living most of his life on the inside of those high walls. Poor, old man.

Frank Darabont is the director of this amazing film, and if you`ve never heard of him, fear not! That doesn`t mean that you`re not as much of a geek as myself. It`s just that he haven`t directed anything worth wasting time on for quite a few years. 5 years went on, after The Shawshank Redemption, before making something almost as good (even better, some would say), The Green Mile (1999). The Mist (2007) I haven`t gotten to yet, and Fahrenheit 451 (2009) is still in production.















I keep asking myself why Tim Robbins seemingly is having such a hard time getting good parts in good movies, he`s a really good actor! The last one I caught with him in it, where he had the leading part, was Jacob's Ladder (1990). Now that`s a crappy film! But he have done a few good to ok ones, other than The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile: Arlington Road (1999), Antitrust (2001), Mystic River (2003), War of the Worlds (2005) and Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005) are the only ones worth mentioning, even though his part in most of them was quite small.

Morgan Freeman does his part in good, old Freeman manner; steady as a rock. But I gotta warn you, don`t watch many films in a row with him in them. He`s got a tendency of getting a little boring. His lacking variety, if you will. But worry not, my friend, in The Shawshank Redemption he fits like a glove. He`s perfect for the part, and I can`t think of anyone that would have dont it better than him.

I recommend this film to anyone. If you haven`t seen it, do so, but if you`re 14-15 you may wanna consider waiting a couple of years. Either that, or watch it again in a few years. That`s what I did, and it was SO much better the second time.

This, people, is a movie to watch and to remember. Nine stars, no doubt about it.

Vanishing Point (1971, 1997)

1971 to the left and 1997 to the right.

Aa`ight! Not too long ago, I had the pleasure of watching Death Proof. Really cool, that one, Quentin Tarantino is a friggin genius. Anyway, during that movie they mentioned a film called Vanishing Point. I had never heard of it before, and that`s kinda strange since I love car movies. I wrote down the title, figuring I had to watch it. I sometimes do that, write down the movie titles that are mentioned in other movies. Maybe I come across something new, you know. The time passed by, and then I finally got my hands on it. Or them, to be exact, because there are two different versions of it: the good one, from 1971, starring Barry Newman, and the not so good one, from 1997, starring Viggo Mortensen. Both of them playing Kowalski, the man driving the fast car.
The newest one is an entertaining movie about driving, but the oldest is a classic and the work of a genius, both compared to the new one and a lot of other movies. The story is slight different in the two, with more of a plot in the 1997 version. The original don`t have much of a plot, really, but it doesn`t matter. It`s all about the driving.
Both of them contains a lot of fast driving, with one of the meanest american cars ever made: the 1970 Dodge Challenger.










Yes, people, this is the car that made history by being part of one of the fastest, coolest car chases ever. In the 1971 version, that is. When I get to think about it, why would someone want to re-make a movie like this anyway? It`s "perfect", leave it as it is. Why drag a good title almost all the way down in the dirt by doing a low budget re-make for tv? Doesn`t make sence, and almost makes me shed a few, brave tears.

As I said before, the 1997 version ain`t terrible, but the 1971 is better. In the "new" one, it`s like you can almost tell that they had a tight budget, you get the feeling of them trying to make the film as cheap as possible. But then again, it was made for tv, if I recall correctly. Considering that, it`s not THAT bad.

But no, people, the old one still is the best one. Watch both of them for all I care, but if you`re going to see just one, be shure to make it the 1971 version. You won`t regret it.

For your information:
The old version also got a naked chick in it, riding a motorbike in the middle of nowhere. Imagine that. Probably a hippie.

No, I`m not rolling the dice any more, you can`t roll a 5.4 on it, you know. So I`m handing out stars instead. 10 stars is maximum.

How many stars to the 1971?



And to the 1997 ? (The last one is me having a good day.)

Ran (1985)

Japanese honor, war & drama at it`s best. Ran is the story about an old lord and his three sons; he`s getting old, so he wants to share his lands, castles and power between them. In return, his only wish is to live in the castle of each of his sons, as their honored guest, for the rest of his days. Off course that do not work out very well, as new gained power has it way to corrupt people. But as they say, "there ain`t no problem you can`t fix with a samurai sword!"

For those of you that have seen Japanese films before, you might know how hard it is to write a review on them, because theres so much happening, so many names etc. I`m not even going to try to write more of a summary than I`ve allready done, that would take all night. Besides, I really feel like sleeping now haha.

Asian movies really ain`t my thing, but this one I kinda liked. I can`t put my finger on it, not shure what it was, but I liked what I saw. A must-see for those of you who don`t like Japanese films; maybe this one`ll change that.

The dice: (It`s more like a 4.5, really.)

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is definitely one of Jack Nicholson best. I could say a lot about this film, but I`ve decided to make all of my reviews short: the movie is a magnificent peace of work. Wanna see fabulous acting? Watch this movie!
Jack Nicholson is one hell of an actor, and so are just about everybody else in this movie, too. That`s quite rare, considering I can only think of a few other movies I`ve seen where all of the actors play their part well.
I laughed a lot when watching this, it`s got a lot of humor in it. Still, in between all the laughing, you get to see the seriousness, and you actually start to care about the people in the film. Sometimes you even feel sorry for them.
"All of that in the same movie??", you might think to yourself. Sure thing.

Time to roll the dice! (I really wanted to give it 5.4 at the dice, but that`s kinda hard, for obvious reasons.)