~Get busy watching decent movies or get busy believin the hype~

Rating: 6/10 (29 January 2003)

I'd heard so much about this film, everyone who told me about it, sang its praises. My ex boyfriend said he'd cried at the end. It's even ranked #2 in imdb's top 250 movies. So you can imagine that as I settled down to watch this film, I was expecting something out of the ordinary.
Unfortunately for me, it was *very* ordinary. Ok sure, there's some great twists and some parts keep you on the edge of your seat. But the pace was slow and dragged in parts, *SPOILER* just like Andy's possesions when he escapes. A few rare films I've watched, American Beauty for example, have made me go "wow" afterwards and stayed with me long after the film has finished. Due to all the hype, I was expecting to feel the same after watching "Shawshank" but all I feel is that most of the film is instantly forgettable and cheesy.
I suspect that most of the people who have rated this film a 9 or 10 haven't had the opportunity to see many films that haven't had the "Hollywood" conveyor belt behind them. My advice to them is to give smaller, low budget films a watch. You may be pleasantly surprised.