Not as Good with repeated viewings..

Rating: 9/10 (30 September 2003)

To me, for a movie to be in the Top 10 all-time, it has to hold up to
repeated viewings. This one does not. I can watch Jaws, City Slickers,
Goodfellas, Titanic, everytime they are on because they exude a certain
feeling of a certain time and space. I am sure everyone here has movies
that do that to them. Yes, I enjoyed Shawshank Redemption immensely when
I first saw it. I was suprized at the ending and found it holding my
attention throughout. But just like Usual Suspects, after you know the
ending, and the cat is out of the bag, so to speak, the movie becomes
just a collection of characters and acting. And unless you are
mesmerized by the performances, the movie just loses it's appeal. Unlike
movies that have more of a attitude or aural feel to them where you get
caught up in the ambience of the movie(stuff like City Slickers,
Godfather, Goodfellas, Chinatown..) this movie just doesn't hold up
based strictly on the performances. I love Morgan Freeman and will watch
most anything he is in, especially Driving Miss Daisy and Seven. It
amazes me how this movie is considered the #2 movie alltime by this
s