The single greatest masterpiece of all time.

Rating: 10/10 (18 July 2005)

I am new to commenting on movies, so maybe I shouldn't have started with trying to put the Shawshank Redemption into words. The themes of hope, depression, friendship, greed, and triumph connect with the best acting I have ever seen in a movie. The actors are so good, you begin to look at Morgan Freeman in real life as "Red" and Tim Robbins as "Andy". The humor is ever present, such as conversations held by the inmates. But perhaps the very best thing for an average viewer is the constant surprises. I'm not talking about monsters jumping from trees, I'm talking about how every time the movie starts to seem to get slow BAM! something happens that represents one of the themes. If you have not seen this movie, maybe because the fact that it is a "prison movie," or maybe because it is now eleven years old, you have missed out on a life experience. It is my favorite movie of all time and always will be. The 9.1 rating on IMDb is so well earned and underrated.